Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul
by BitPoet
Summary: PostHBP: Harry Potter has left Hogwarts and gone back to stay with the Dursleys after the gruesome events at the battle of Hogwarts. Dark times are coming. Will he find time for love between searching for the last Horcruxes and preparing to battle Vold...
1. Chapter 1 A Broken Spell

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

Main Characters/Ships: Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione

Spoilers: Books 1 through 6

_AN:_ First hello to everyone, and I hope you have a good time reading my fic. It is my first to-be-novel-length HP fanfic, and though I have already completed chapter 5 at the time I upload this first one there may sometimes be one or two weeks between chapter releases. So please be patient with me.

I also ask all readers to excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes I make. Don't hesitate to point them out to me. English isn't my native language, but I do want to improve.

A few words about the story: It's settled after the events of HBP, picking up after Harry has gone back to the Dursleys. Things are going to happen in quick succession, and there won't be much time for him to collect himself and take a breath. He will meet interesting new people, be on the hunt for the remaining Horcruxes, and in that will need all the support he can get to finish his task. A familiar red-haired witch will also be very import, maybe in ways you didn't consider... but then, maybe you did.

Ah, and before I forget: please review!

_Disclaimer_: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter 1 - A Broken Spell**

It was a softly warm summer night, and the moon painted silvery twinkles onto the trees and bushes in the garden of number 4, Privet Drive. Everything was quiet and dark, except a small flicker of light coming from one window. Sitting on his desk in the bedroom above the stairs was Harry Potter, dark rings around his eyes and, guessing by his pale face and messy hair, looking like he hadn't slept in days. Which was true.

Giving a small sigh, Harry stood to open the window. Turning to his snowy owl he softly said: "I think you might want to go for a little hunt, Hedwig." The owl hooted joyfully from its already opened cage and fluttered over to Harry's shoulder. After giving his earlobe an affectionate tug it spread its wings and glided out into the night. "I just wish I could do the same. Go out, hunting."

He couldn't stop the coldness from flowing through his body again. The events at the battle at Hogwarts were still fresh in his memories. He had tried to sleep, but every time he closed his eyes he saw the image of Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts and the closest thing to a grandfather he ever had experienced, crumbling to the ground, the cold green flash of the Avada Kedevara course blowing through his chest. Again the all too familiar feeling of desperation got a hold on him, and the faces of all those he had lost spun through his thoughts. His parents, killed by the hand of Voldemort, the Dark Lord and his enemy, himself. Cedric Diggory, killed on Voldemort's order after he had regained his body at the end of the Triwizard Turnament. Sirius Black, his godfather and friend, who was pushed through the veil of death inside the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries by the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the closest followers of Voldemort. And finally Dumbledore, murdered by Harry's Potion Teacher, Professor Snape.

Harry was unable to express the hatred he felt towards Snape, who was a known Death Eater, how the followers of Voldemort called themselves. Only Dumbledore had trusted in Snape to have left the dark side, defending him against the mistrust from all the people around him.

Suddenly, Harry noticed he was no longer sitting in his room. He looked around startled and found himself near the lake at Hogwarts, the place he always went to when he needed to think about something. Somehow, looking at the reflections of the sky on the water had a soothing effect on him. In the distance, a tentacle of the giant squid living in the lake shot out from the water for a second and vanished again. From the corner of his eyes he noticed that someone stood next to him. He turned his head a little and looked into the face of a young witch with curly red hair and speckles all over her face. Her eyes looked a little said, and questioning. A small smile begun to play on his lips, and a feeling of relieve washed away the worst of his fears.

"Ginny."

"Harry."

Nothing more needed to be said. If there was one person who could comfort him, it was her. He still wondered, how they had gotten so close to each other over this year, a year that had been loaded with fear, chaos and death. He saw her reach out for his hand and did the same, as a strong tugging grabbed his stomach and he was whirled through darkness. Before he could even take a glimpse of his new surroundings, a hissing voice bore through his head.

"There you are, Potter. Without the protection of Dumbledore now. That old fool should have known you would be his downfall."

A burning agony ran through the scar on Harry's forehead as the cruel, high pitched laughter of Voldemort filled his ears. The pain was so intense it blurred his sight, but he managed to notice that he, or rather Voldemort, through whose eyes he was looking at the moment, was standing outside of Riddle Manor.

"I see you recognize this place. It was a very nice encounter we had here, don't you think so too?"

Harry desperately tried to block out Voldemort from his mind, using all his Occlumency skills, but to no avail. New pain seared through his head as Voldemort gave another laugh.

"I would have liked it to end here in the first place. That would have spared both of us some trouble. But even in that little time the escape bought you, the only thing you accomplished was that you lead those really close to you to death."

"That's not true, you bastard!" Harry managed to scream, ignoring the pain that nearly rendered him unconcious.

"Ah, finally found your voice, Potter? But, what I saw from the short dream you were so grateful to show to me, I must admit you are for once correct. There is someone very, very close to you that isn't dead. Yet. But I daresay this will be taken care of."

An image of Ginny appeared before his eyes, her face written with terror and pain. With a cold crack a flash of green light exploded on her chest, and her eyes went empty. Harry's heart seemed to turn into stone as he watched the death of his loved one, and unbelievable pain surged through his head. "Noooooooooo!" he screamed, as the scene played over and over again for what seemed like an eternity.

Whe was only startled out of it by a loud bang next to him. The pain still searing through the scar on his forehead he noticed himself laying on the floor of his room. His chair was flipped over, and a lot of parchments from his desk cluttered the floor around him. In the door frame he saw the face of Vernon Dursley, his uncle, his face redder than he had ever seen it before, his eyes narrowed to slits.

"I HAVE ENOUGH OF YOUR SICK MENTAL BEHAVIOUR YOU UNGRATEFUL SMALL BASTARD! YOU WILL LEAVE THIS HOUSE THIS INSTANT, OR I'LL BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU UNTIL YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO LEAVE ANYMORE!"

"I'm sorry," Harry only managed to mutter, when his uncle raised his voice again.

"DON'T EVEN TRY TO TELL ME ANYTHING OF YOUR BLOODY SHIT. GET! OUT! NOW!"

His uncle was now cowering above him, his massive fist raised as if ready to beat him. From the look in his eyes Harry could tell that this time his uncle had truely snapped. Words would do no good now. He shook his head to clear his vision and felt the side pocket of his robes which he hadn't put off since his arrival. His wand was there, and at least he had his glasses on.

"YOU HAVE THREE SECONDS!" Vernon Dursley's voice thundered again, and Harry did not want to wait to see if he really ment what he had said. Still drowsy from all the pain he managed to jump up and ran through the door and down the steps as fast as he could. Of course, he could probably defend himself with his wand, but as he was still underage and not allowed to do magic out of school, this might bring him even more trouble. As he ran to the front door he could see his Aunt Petunia in the kitchen, wearing a face that showed nothing like compassion. His Cousin Dudley watched him sprint by from the living room, a satisfied grin plastered across his face.

Uncle Vernon's enraged voice followed him through the house, "AND DARE YOU OR ONE OF YOUR SICK KIND NEVER AGAIN SET ANY FOOT ONTO MY GROUNDS AGAIN. NEVER!"

Harry tore open the door and stumbled into the moonlit night, not looking back as he sprinted down to the road and along it, until he was safely out of sight of house number 4, Privet Drive. Panting he stood there, not sure what really had happened. Then it came rushing back to him. Voldemort had threatened to kill Ginny, and the Dursleys had pushed him out of their house. And even if he hated the Dursleys and living with them, he knew all too well by now that their home had been the safest place for him. The ancient magic blood bond that Dumbledore had placed on them had been far too powerful even for Voldemort.

He looked around the dimly lit street, unsure where to go. Walking would bring him nowhere. Maybe he could get the Knight Bus and ride to Grimauld Place. No, Grimauld Place, which had previously been Sirius's home and now belonged to Harry, was no longer safe. For the last year it had been used as a head quarter for the Order of the Phoenix, protected by Dumbledore as its secret keeper. Now, with Dumbledore dead...

Just then, a somehow familiar looking cat jumped effortlessly from a stone pillar next to him. Eyeing him curiously, the cat slowly approached. When its unblinking eyes met his gaze, he recognized the feline form.

"Professor McGonagall! Thank Merlin!"

In an instant, his Transfiguration teacher and deputy head mistress stood at the spot where the cat had been. Her faced looked far from pleased.

"Mr. Potter! After all what has happened, do you still not have the smallest idea how dangerous it is to stroll around, especially at night and with no one here to protect you?"

"I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall. It's not by my own decision."

The Transfiguration professor raised her brow curiously. "Would you care to enlighten me about your reasons then? And please make it quick, this place is anything but safe."

"Sure. You see, Professor, I slept in and had another, ehm, vision of Voldemort. He threatened to kill Ginny and let the image of her dying play before my eyes over and over again." The desperation again grabbed his heart, and he had to draw in a deep breath of the cold night air before he could go on. "However, I must have been screaming aloud, as uncle Vernon came into my room and threw me out of his house. He threatened to beat me up if I ever dared to set foot in his house again."

McGonagall's face had now a truely worried look. "Did any of the other Dursleys say something?"

Harry didn't understand why she was asking that. "No, they just watched me run out of the house." he answer, somewhat puzzled.

The professor gave a sad sigh. "Then you can't go back. Oh Merlin!"

Harry looked at her curiously. "I'm sorry, Professor, but with your last question..."

McGonagall thought for a second. "You see, Harry, the spell Professor Dumbledore put on the Dursleys' home relied on them to willingly take you in. Even if one of them threw you out this wouldn't make it fail, if one of the others had opposed this decission just a little bit. But how things look, the spell is broken now and there is no one I know who is powerful enough to reapply it."

"Where can I go then?"

McGonagall didn't answer for some seconds, before the determination came back to her. "I think you can go to the secret safe place for a short time. While you are there, someone can fetch your things while we decide what to do next." With the hint of smile playing on her lips she added, "I think you might even enjoy being there a little."

Harry was curious, but another thought came to his mind. "Professor, about Voldemort, and - Ginny..."

"I asure you that there is no need to worry, at least not now."

She quickly took a small, quadratic box from one of her pockets and muttered something, swinging her wand above it. When she finished with the word "Portus", the box glowed very shortly in a dim blue light.

McGonagall nodded to him, and he grabbed onto one corner of the newly created portkey. Almost instantly a tingling sensation caught his stomach and he felt being pulled forward and away. He closed his eyes for a moment. Soon his feet stumbled on the floor again, and reopening his eyes he saw something that made him forget the last hour.

Just a few feet away from him stood Ginny, a look of complete surprise and joy plastered across her face.

"Harry!"

"Ginny!"

Within an instant she had run over to him and was now hugging him as if she would never let go again. He hugged her back as well, a lone tear of relief running down his cheek.

He softly kissed her forehead. "I love you, Ginny."

He felt her body stiffen a little, but in an instant she went soft againt and pressed herself to his chest. "Me too." She lifted her head and a little worry was shining through her smiling eyes. "What has happened?"

"Ahem." Professor McGonagall coughed next to Harry. "As much as I understand your desire, to, ehm, talk with each other now, there are matters that are more urgent. You will both find enough time a little later. Please come with me, both of you"

"Sure, Professor." they said almost synchronuously, both blushing under the amused look of their teacher. Just as he was about to say something to Ginny she seemed to have read his mind. "It's OK. Let's talk later."

Reliefed, Harry nodded his head and took a look around. They were inside a building, and the way the walls and doors were painted looked rather familiar to him. Without thinking he took Ginny's hand in his and they strolled after McGonagall through a door. When he saw who was sitting inside it hit home.

"Ah, quite unexpected. Nonetheless I'm happy to meet you again so soon. Welcome, Mr. Potter. Good evening, Minerva."

"Thanks, glad to meet you again, too, Minister. Hello as well, Mr. Weasley."

They were in the Ministry of magic. Yet this room wasn't one of the offices Harry had been in before. It held a big, round meeting table and was void of portraits that used to line the walls in other Ministry rooms.

"I see you wonder about the surroundings," the Minister, Rufus Scrimgeour, said. "This is a part of the Ministry that is normally unknown to the public. It holds a few bedrooms and a kitchen, intended to be used by Ministry officials who don't want to go home every day. As those rooms haven't been used in years, I have agreed to lend it to the..." Harry could almost hear the Minister think "Order", but he thought for a moment, "to your friends. But tell me, what brought us the pleasure this evening?"

Harry only hesitated briefly. "The Dursleys broke the protective spell that had been placed on their house, and luckily I met Professor McGonagall, who brought me here."

Mr. Weasley's face grew worried. "Is that true, Minerva?"

"It seems, Arthur. They threw him out without one of them objecting."

"That complicates things. But I'm glad Harry is here and safe for the time being."

"Ehm, Minister, do you still need me here?" Harry asked, anxious to be able to talk to Ginny.

"I think you can go if you like, I do believe there are some people you will want to meet."

"Thank you. Goodbye Minister. See you later, Professor, Mr. Weasley."

Having said that, he was already pulled out of the door by Ginny. He didn't notice the puzzled look Mr. Weasly gave him. After the door was shut they hugged again. "I'm so glad you are here. I couldn't have stood another day without you!" She nearly cried.

"Same with me. I missed you."

They kissed again, softly. After a minute, they withdrew, both panting.

Ginny smiled at him. "I could do that for hours. But let's see Ron and Hermione first."

"They are both here?" Now this was another thing to cheer up his mood. "What are we waiting for?"


	2. Chapter 2 Couples

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

_AN_: This one is dedicated to all the Harry/Ginny shippers out there. Have fun (and please, please review)!

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter 2 - Couples**

The Ministry rooms looked rather comfortable to Harry, one could even forget that they were obviously a few floors below the ground. Ginny led him through a small entrance hall and into another room that somehow resembled the Gryffindor common room. Ron and Hermione were sitting on a fluffy carpet close to the fireplace and seemed rather surprised at his entrance.

"Harry! What're you doing here, mate?" Ron asked curiously.

"Got a early leave from the Dursleys." He already was able to joke about that. What wonder, he thought to himself. Just some days ago they all had fought against Vodemort's Death Eaters, seen injury and death. Compared with that, his read faced uncle seemed quite funny now.

"What're you smiling?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just happy to be here."

"What happend?"

He explained them in detail how he had awoken from the dream about Voldemort, leaving out the part about the threat of Ginny's death, and described how he had fled the house and was picked up by Professor McGonagall. Sometimes in between Ron murmured words like "slimy ugly git" or "that greasy bastard". Harry wasn't sure who exactly was meant, his Uncle or Voldemort, but then both would have earned those titles. When he explained why the wards at Privet Drive weren't working anymore, Hermione looked at him simpathetically. "So you can't stay there anymore?"

"No. And in fact I'm rather glad I don't have to be there anymore, so don't pity me. I'm not sure whether I had stayed with those gits much longer anyhow!" Somehow talking about the Dursleys got him angry again.

"Calm down, Harry, I was just teasing."

"Oh." He unvoluntarily ran his hand through his hair. "I might have been hanging around Ron for too long."

"What does that mean?" The readhead asked with a scowl.

Ginny grinned from ear to ear. "He is slowly turning into a real male Weasley, you see. Like needing a big transparent saying 'Attention, Joke' held before his head once every minute."

"Oh shutup!" Ron scowled, quickly grabbing a cushion from one of the chairs next to him. Before Ginny could duck it was flying through the room and hit her face with a soft thump. A furious cushion fight ensued, and after a couple of minutes all four of them were lying on the floor with messed hair, panting for breath.

"That was fun. I think I needed something like that." Harry finally managed to say.

"Yeah mate. We should suggest it to Voldemort, it's a lot better than all this cursing."

Harry chuckled, and soon all of them, even Hermione, broke down in a fit of laughter. For some minutes they didn't notice the figure of Professor McGonagall standing in the door frame, trying her best to not look as amused as she was.

"I see that having to be here isn't too hard to you, Harry. I just wanted to inform you that Professor Lupin has gone to fetch your belongings from your relatives and will be here shortly. And I wanted to suggest that you don't stay up for too long. I have to make an important visit tomorrow in the morning, and I would very much like you to accompany me."

"Of course, Professor. Who are we going to visit?"

"That is a rather long story, but there will be enough time to explain everything to you during the trip." The determined look on McGonagall's face made clear that did not want to explore this topic further.

"All right. So good night, Professor."

"Good night, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron."

They each gave their goodbyes and she left, taking a last, meaningful look at Harry.

"What was that look about?" Ron inquired.

Harry just shrugged. "Don't know. I hope she doesn't get as secretive as ..." Dumbledore, he wanted to say, but he felt tears welling up in his eyes and turned his head away. Eventually, the events of the day got to him. Ginny laid one hand on his shoulder and with the other turned his face to look into hers. He saw the sympathetic look in her eyes and wanted turn away again, but she held him there.

"It's okay, Harry. I know it hurts. But we're here with you. I am here with you." With that she pulled him into a thight embrace.

Ron was about to open his mouth but Hermione ellbowed him in the chest. "I think I'm heading off to bed. You should also, Ron. You have to get up early, too." Hermione grabbed the baffled Ron by his robe and nearly yanked him up. Harry expected him to object to that, but to his astonishment the readhaired boy just mumbled "ehm, yea, see you up in the dorm, Harry. G'night Ginny."

As they had left through a big green door on the opposite wall, Harry was unsure if he should laugh or be worried about Ron's unexpected behaviour. "Did I miss something important, Gin?"

She smiled at him, her dark brown eyes reflecting the light from the fireplace, and as she brushed a stray curl of hair out of her face he couldn't help but think how beautiful she had become over the last year. Or maybe she had always been, but he had noticed it only that late. He almost didn't hear her talking. "Ron finally asked her out officially, after we arrived at Kings Cross. I didn't think he would ever have the guts, but it seems like miracles can happen."

"Speaking of miracles..." Harry couldn't help but smile mischeavously.

"Yes?"

"Do I need to ask you out officially to be together with you again?" His finger pushed another stray curl away from her cheek.

Ginny seemed to glow of happyness and soon they were kissing once more. Harry heard her mutter something in between that sounded a bit like "stupid, stubborn git", but he didn't really mind. He felt his heart beating, and a warm, swirling, fleeting feeling in his stomach told him that everything was allright.

Finally they let go off each other and lay side by side on the thick, fluffy carpet, Harry's hand cupping Ginny's. "What made you change your mind?" Ginny asked.

Harry thought for some time. "I think I should tell you the whole story. You know, when we broke up, the reason for me was to protect you. I wouldn't be able to stand it if something happened to you. But this evening, when I fell asleep and Voldemort was in my head," he felt Ginny's hand take his in a firm, assuring grip, "at first he only tried to tease and humiliate me, talking about my parents, Dumbledore, Cedric and all the others that have died because they were close to me in one way or the other. But then..."

He had to take in some gulps of deep breath before he could continue, "then he told me he knew what was of most importance to me. And he showed me - over and over again, I thought I couldn't stand it, but I had to watch, again and again - " the despair again overwhelmed him, and he broke into a sobbing.

"What was it Harry? It's okay, you can tell me." Ginny softly stroked his cheek.

After a minute he had calmed down enough to continue. "It was you he showed me. You being hit with the Avada Kedevara curse. I saw you dying, and I could do nothing, just watch, and it hurt me so much, I thought it would tear me apart..."

"Shhhh," she comforted him, her eyes wet now, too, "it wasn't real. I'm here, and nothing bad has happened to me. Nothing bad will happen to me."

"Thanks, Ginny." He was able to smile a little.

"For what?"

"For being here. Being you. And hearing me out, holding me. Even if it seems I'm sobbing half the time we get together. Malfoy would love to see that. Harry Potter, the sobbing sissy..."

"Shhhh, " she comforted him, "I can't help that, you know." Teasingly, she added: "And I don't mind, as long as you are my sobbing sissy."

"Thanks though." He had to smile. "Well, it seems that after the battle I did drop my Occlumency wards, and Voldemort must have seen in my mind how I feel about you. So it makes no sense hiding anything any longer."

"I think I should be glad about that." She sad, smiling back.

"How can you be glad when there is a crazy dark lord out there trying to kill you?"

Ginny sat up next to him. Looking like a mixture of Professor McGonagall giving out detentions and Molly Weasley lecturing the twins she said: "Mr. Potter. Just knowing you makes oneself a target for the whole dark side of the wizarding world. But don't you dare and let those creatures take away all the fun and love in your live. That's what they want to achieve. And you should know that you will never, ever get rid of me!"

Her face was radiating with determination now, and he was struck by how beautiful this made her. "It really amazes me how fearless you are, Ginny. Most people wouldn't want to have anything to with me under this circumstances."

"I'm not most people. I'm a Gryffindor, after all. And a Weasley, too. You know, stubborn like a mountain troll, and even harder to get rid of."

Starting in his stomach, a comfortable wave of happiness spread all through his body, and still smiling at her, Harry couldn't suppress a yawn. "I'm glad for that. I love you so much, Ginny Weasley!" He pulled her to him and kissed her softly on her lips. "I'm really glad to have you."

Ginny snuggled up to him, whispering "So am I. I love you too, Harry. With all of my heart." But he had already fallen deeply asleep, the sleepless nights at Privet Drive taking their toll. Soon Ginny was asleep as well, her head resting on Harry's chest, and both of them had peaceful smile on their lips.

They didn't even notice the door opening and Remus Lupin stepping into the common room, carrying two big trunks and an owl cage with him. When he saw the two teenagers he couldn't help but smile sadly. "Just like James and Lilly. I only wish the two could be here to see you two." He softly put down everything next to the wall and slowly left the room without waking them up.


	3. Chapter 3 A Journey and a Letter

** Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

_AN_: This is more of an in-between chapter, laying things out and preparing some exciting news. Still, I don't think you will find it boring. Have fun! (And review!)

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**  
Chapter 3 - A Journey and a Letter**

"Ahem."

Harry awoke with a start, a strange weight on his chest. Blinking a few times against the light he slowly remembered where he was. The Ministry. Ginny was still snuggled up to him, just like she had fallen asleep the night before. Ron was standing next to him, looking anything but pleased.

"What exactly do you think you're doing with my sister?"

"What does it look like?"

"I don't get it. First you go out with her, then you drop her at the ceremony, and now you are behaving like you hadn't broken up at all. If you are just playing with her, I promise you'll wish you had never been born!"

Harry did his best to keep from smiling at his best friend. He had heard this too often to take it personally. "Come on, Ron, you know me. I'd never do anything to hurt Ginny. I promise. It's only - things have changed."

Just when Ron tried to retort something, Hermione came to their rescue. "Good morning, Harry. Hey, Ginny, wake up! Breakfast is ready!" Ginny stirred, and Ron's stomach grumbled lowdly. "It's about time, I'm starving."

Hermione looked at him, rolling her eyes. "How could you be starving when you've eaten a whole box of chocolate frogs before you went to bed?"

"Well, " Ron shrugged and turned to the door, "I guess I have to trust my stomach on that. See you at breakfast."

Ginny sat herself up, yawning. "I could have slept a whole day."

"Same here. But we should really get some breakfast. I don't know by what time Professor McGonagall wants to leave. And by the way, thanks Hermione."

"What for?"

"Ron was just about to give me another of his protective-brother speeches. But you haven't told me yet why you're all here and not at the Burrow."

They all headed off to breakfast and Ginny started to explain. "A Member of the Order overheared some of the Death Eaters talking about raiding homes of Ministry Officials that are known to support the Order. So they tipped off the Ministry and took us here as a precaucion. It's quite okay here, but I already feel a bit like being caged up."

"And why are you here, Hermione? Are your parents staying here too?"

"No, " the bushy-haired girl answered, "they are spending their holidays in Greece. I had planned to come with them, but when Ron told me he couldn't stay at the Burrow, I asked them to let me keep him company."

They all settled round the big table. Ron had already helped himself to a plate full of bacon and eggs and was shuffling it furiously into his mouth. Hermione gave him a quick disgusted look and poured herself some pumpkin juice.

Harry had only gotten a few bits of toast when Molly Weasley came rushing into the kitchen, followed by Remus Lupin and Professor McGonagall. "Oh Harry, thank Merlin you're safe. Minerva told me what this person did."

When Harry rose to greet her good morning he found himself instantly engulfed in a bonecrushing hug. "Good morning, Mrs. Weasley."

"Now, Molly, please let the poor boy breath." Remus said smiling.

"Look how thin he is. I don't think those Dursleys treated him right!"

"It's okay, Mrs. Weasley. I got enough to eat. And thank you, Remus, for collecting my things."

"Your welcome, Harry." The werewolf smiled at him. "I believe that Vernon isn't as thankfull, though. Even if I think just frightening him doesn't in the least do his behaviour justice."

Remus and the Professor took seat at the table and also helped themselves to some breakfeast while Mrs. Weasley was busy preparing some more bacon and boiling coffee. Everyone chattered about their last days and what had happened around. Hermione was busy reading her copy of the Daily Prophet. When she came down to the bottom of the first page, she stiffened and her face pailed.

Wordlessly she turned it around for the others to read, and everybody went silent.

_Ministry officials' homes attacked_

_Last night six homes of Ministry officials all around Britain have been attacked by the followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Though noone was killed at the attacks, at least five Aurors where severely injured. According to the Minister Of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, the Ministry had knowledge on the upcoming raids and was able to evacuate the families beforehand: "I'm glad I can say the Ministry was one step ahead of He-Who-Must-No-Be-Named. It's bad that there have been casualties, and I want to express the Ministry's deepest sympathy with those who were injured and also with their families. They did a very brave job, and we were able to arrest six of the attackers. The Ministry is taking every measure possible to guarantee safety for the wizarding population."_

_Read the full story on page 2..._

"I can't believe that," Hermione shouted. "The Ministry was one step ahead! Pah!"

"Mrs. Granger, I understand your emotions," Professor McGonagall interfered, "but I ask you to put your voice down a little. After all, it's the Ministry where we are now. It would do all of us no good to be considered rude guests."

"I'm sorry, Professor. You are right." Hermione said, blushing. Then she slowly lookup up at Mrs. Weasley. "Did the Burrow...?"

Molly Weasley looked a little pale in her face, Harry noticed. "No damage done that couldn't be repaired in a day or two. Arthur is already seeing to that." Harry noticed that he had been holding his breath, and let out the air, relieved. The Weasleys really didn't deserve all this trouble. It was bad enough Bill had bin injured at the battle of Hogwarts. A small wave of guilt welled up in him, even though he knew he need not feel like this.

The Headmistress turned towards Harry. "I think we should get ready for the trip now. Please meet me in, say, ten minutes in the common room. I'd suggest you wear formal robes and no too heavy clothing underneath, as it will be quite warm where we are going."

"Will school robes do?" Harry asked.

"Of course."

"Wha' u go'n?" Ron inquired with his mouth full, but he quickly swallowed when Hermione hit him in the chest. "Where are you going?"

Harry could just shrug. "Don't know yet."

McGonagall's look made clear she still didn't want to elaborate that topic, so Harry waved a quick goodbye to everyone and gave Ginny a peck on the cheek. He fetched his things and carried them through the door through which Ron had gone the evening before. To his luck Ron hadn't closed his door, so he could easily spot the right dorm room. It held three beds, and only one of them seemed occupied, so he just put his things down next to an empty one. He slipped into a pair of jeans and a thin shirt. After putting on the best one of his school robes with the golden Gryffindor logo and checking that he had his wand and a few Galleons of money with him, he went to the common room again.

The Head Mistress was already there. "Ready to go, Harry?" She asked, holding the now familiar quadratic box in her hand.

He nodded.

"So hold on." Again an unsettling feeling grabbed at his navel, and he was swirled around and had a hard time keeping his balance.

Reopening his eyes he saw a place he had never been to before. The ground was mostly sand, a few yellow rocks here and there, and the only plants were some funny little trees standing in rows. Everything seemed to have a glow from the hot sun burning down from the cloudless sky. A few miles away he could see a huge lake.

"We're in Israel." McGonagall explained, seeing his questioning look. "This is the Dead Sea. But if you please follow me."

He turned around after her, and they approached a big rock. The Professor tapped it with her wand, and instantly the entrance to a cave appeared, through which they entered. It opened into a room about 20 feet in each direction, and just high enough to stand upright. Apart from stone benches along the sides it was bare of everything.

"Please take a seat, Harry. The last part of the journey will take some time."

"Is this like an elevator?"

"Yes and no. Yes, in a way this room transports us, but not upwards or downwards. It will take us through time."

"So we are time travelling?"

"Only in a way. You see, Harry, there have always been places with very strong magic. In some of them the immanent magic is so strong that the flow of time has changed. It could go faster, or slower, like in the one we are visiting. Without a strong magical shield it would be impossible to enter such places, one would be torn to pieces in the process. So this cave is like a shielded bubble connected to that place. As we wait here, we are slowly transferred into the changed timeflow."

Impressed, Harry could only nod. He thought of Hermione, how excited she would have been to be here, and had to smile. "But you still haven't told me who we are going to visit, and why, Professor."

McGonagall thought for a moment, a sad look playing around her eyes, and then pulled an envelope out of her robe. "I think it is allright if you read this. This is about everything that I know."

Harry pulled the letter out of its envelope and in an instant he recognized Dumbledore's neat handwriting.

_Dear Minerva!_

_If you read this, worst has come to the worst. Yet I can not say that I did expect things to be different._

_Maybe you have already been told what Harry and myself have been looking into. If not, he can give you a detailed explanation. Just so much: Tom Riddle has, as you know I have been dreading, indeed created six Horcruxes. With his diary and Marvolo's ring two of them have been destroyed. The third one, which I am not completely sure of, is what we are trying to find at the time I write this, and maybe we will have been lucky to destroy it as well. But I feel that time is running short now, and Harry needs all the support he can get to seek for the remaing three._

_I do believe that there is someone who can be of great help, for Harry and for the safety of Hogwarts as well. You have met him once, it is Isaac Luria. He is a very old friend of mine, but it may take some effort to convince him. You can find a detailed description of how to reach him in the top drawer in my desk._

_Isaac has been researching the nature of the human soul for very long time, and he has found some very strong and ancient magic alongside. He is an expert in Kabbalah, how they call Arithmancy in this part of the world, and he has also discovered a very old prophecy that may be of importance. Please ask him about that and insist that Harry must hear it. Please also let Harry show him his scar, as I have a suspicion that only Isaac can prove. He will know when he sees it._

_Maybe I should have taken this step earlier, but there were a few questions that needed to be and only recently got answered. Please do not resign to the dark shadows above our heads. There is still plenty of light in this world._

_Yours_

_Albus, having now jumped into the next big adventure..._

Harry put the letter down slowly. "Another prophecy?" He asked, his face a mixture of emotions.

"I did not know about it either. Fawkes brought me this letter only yesterday, and I have been busy aranging our ride since then."

He handed her back the letter, and they both sat in silence for the next quarter of an hour. He closed his eyes and leaned back onto the wall. Why hadn't Dumbledore told him about this prohpecy. After all they had argued enough over not telling him about the first one. And what suspicion did the former Headmaster have about his scar? Could Voldemort have made him a Horcrux, even though Dumbledore had ruled out that idea in the first place? Thoughts just kept spinning through his head, and he was happy when the faint tinkling sound of a bell broke his introspection.

"It seems that we have arrived." The Professor stated.

Harry opened his eyes and found that an opening had appeared in the middle of the cave, with stairs leading downwards. The flickering of candles shone through the opening. McGonagall stepped down without hesitation, so he followed, wondering what was to come.


	4. Chapter 4 Another Prophecy Revealed

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

_AN_: Thanks to lovly elley and Hedwig's Return for your reviews. Feedback is the air that a writer breathes. Hope you like this one also. With this chapter, things get into pace.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter 4 - Another Prophecy Revealed**

Walking cautiously down the spiral stairs behind Professor McGonagall, Harry was impressed by what he saw. The room they entered was like an enormous hall. Enough room, Harry surmised, to hold a Quiddich game. The staircase led down on one of the walls, and what he could tell everything was made from white marble. The walls were lined with hundreds of stone columns that carried an enchanted ceiling where you could see the spiral cloud of the galaxy rotate against the blackness of the universe. Thousands of candles lit the room in a warm light, placed all over the floor.

A little disturbed, he noticed that the hall was almost bare of furniture or other things, apart from a big, quadratic cube made of red marble in its middle, about 10 feet in each direction. Next to that there was a figure sitting at a wooden table, seemingly busy taking down notes on a long sheet of parchment.

As they drew closer, Harry could make out more details. The figure at the table was a very old wizard. He looked rather slim and wore a white, neatly trimmed beard. His hair was hidden under a round, thight cap of purple fabric and he was clothed in white robes that seemed to mirror the flames of the candles all around him.

They were only a few feet away from him when he turned to look at them. "Ah, Professor McGonagall. So nice to meet you again. And you have brought company. But tell me, why did you not bring my friend Albus with you?"

Harry looked at the old wizard, and he noticed a familiar, friendly sparkle in his eyes, quite similar to that one he had so often seen in his Headmasters'.

"Ari Luria, " McGonagall answered slowly, "I'm honoured to meet you again. But I bring sad news with me. Albus has died."

The old wizard leaned slowly back in his chair with a thoughtful look, yet a smile never leaving his face. "So he has gone on too. I believe, this will be a deep loss for everyone who knew him. A good soul, he was. Always serving, when he could have been leading."

Harry felt his eyes get wet, and McGonagall seemed to have a hard time, too, fighting hear tears.

"But tell me please, what you have come for." The wizard turned back his gaze towards the Head Mistress. "I do not believe it was only to bring me this news."

Harry could see his Professor struggle with herself how to put her words, but then she straightened her shoulders. "We are here because Albus asked us to see you in case anything happened to him. I have a letter with me from him."

She pulled another envelope, similar to the one she had shown to Harry, from her pocket and handed it to Luria. He carefully pulled it open and straightened the parchment out before him. Reading down the letter, he looked first concerned, then deeply worried, almost angry.

Practically jumping up from his chair, in a speed that seemed impossible for his age, he started to pace up and down in front of Harry and his teacher. Suddenly coming to halt, he questioned with a strong voice: "Professor, do you know what Albus is asking from me with this letter?"

The usually so determined McGonagall looked almost fearful. "I am sorry, Ari, but he only told me to give you this letter and insist that you showed a prohpecy to Harry here. Nothing more."

Luria continued to walk up and down, now at a slower pace. "It can not be. It should not be. Not yet!" He said loudly to himself. But when he stopped walking again, his face had a questioning look. "What did Albus mean, to show me the scar?"

McGonagall turned to Harry and was obviously wanting to tell him to reveal his scar, but he had already taken a few steps towards the old wizard. He didn't want to wait any longer. He had barely understood a word from the conversation, but he was quite certain it was about him. Things were always about him. Quickly he lifted his hand and brushed his hair aside, showing the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. And though he had his eyes fixed to the floor, he could sense Luria draw in a sharp breath.

When he slowly looked up to the wizard, a pale face looked him directly into the eyes, almost as white as his robes. Luria seemed to stagger, but caught himself and extended an arm towards Harry. An old, boney finger carefully traced the contours of the scar.

"So it is true." Luria's formerly so strong voice now was barely any more than a hoarse whisper, and Harry had to strain his ears to hear him. "The time we have been fearing so long has finally come."

"What time?" Harry asked, being even more confused.

"Harry!" Professor McGonagall interfered, but Luria just waved his hand.

"It is an absolutely valid, no, neccessary question. And I hate to have to say that," the wizard gave him a sorrowful look, "you, young Harry, are the one to ask it, and to get it answered."

Harry's stomach was in an uproar. It did not look like the old man would tell him something comforting. He wanted to run, hide, get away from whatever new worries this meant. The first prohpecy had almost been too much for him to bear, he didn't need another one messing up that little left of what he could call his normal life. But then he thought of Dumbledore, and his friends, and how everyone had to rely on him to get rid of Voldemort. Maybe Luria had some knowledge that would help him. He steadied himself for whatever was to come.

Luria walked to his chair and sat down. With a wave of his hand, two more comfortable chairs appeared on the opposite side of his desk, and he gestured them both to sit down.

"This is a long story, and I did hope I would not have to tell it. I ask your patience with me, as I will try to explain everything as good as I can in the short time."

Luria folded his hands with concentration, and suddenly he again had the composed, friendly aura surrounding him they had first experienced when they had entered the hall.

"It all starts far, far back in the beginning of our world. At first, before our universe started to exist, there was only magic. This magic started to concentrate into a single point, as it was pure, light magic, and the light seeks the light. It condensed into a point, and from that everything we know as our world was created. In this process, the spiritual magic that created this expanded into circles of different powers. Every living soul, every thing that exists in our world, is linked to this rings of magic, which the Kabbalah calls the Sefirot.

But being apart from each other, the different powers lost balance, and that way the darkness entered the world. Whilst four of the Sefirot were good in their own, the remaining six became what we see now as the source for all evil."

The wizard paused for a minute, obviously to give time to let it sink in. Harry glanced shortly over to his Transfiguration Teacher, who nodded to him assuringly. Just when he was about to ask what all this had to do with the prophecy, Luria continued.

"Thousands of years ago, our world saw truely dark, evil times. People were enslaved and killed everywhere, and a reign of terror washed over the earth. But a few very powerful wizards tried to withstand the darkness, and they created a link to the good Sephirot to put regain the balance. They succeeded, and their work still exists and serves its purpose. Today it is mostly known as the Grail."

Harry couldn't stop his excitement. "You mean, Grail, as in 'Arthur and the Holy Grail'?"

Luria chuckled a little. "Exactly that one, even though this part is only legend. The Grail has never left its place, as no one would be able to move it. And it is not a cup or such either."

He gave Harry a deep look into the eyes. "What I will tell you now is one of the most valuable treasures our world holds. Never must it fall into the hands of the dark, or there may be no hope left for wizardkind!"

Harry was rooted to his spot, his heart beating hard in his chest. Why did everyone he met add more responsibility on him? Yet he nodded in understanding.

"The Grail is here in this cube. Its magic is so powerful that time is bent around it. The closer you get, the slower it goes by, as it is directly connected to the sources of magic and magic itself knows no time. Looking at it closely, one could see the past and the future, but only for a incredibly high price - the price of one's sanity. The price of one's soul. I will bring you to the Grail, but you must not, and this is more important than I could possibly express, you must not open your eyes unless I tell you so."

The wizard rose from his chair. "Please follow me."

McGonagall also went up from her seat, but Luria asked her to stay here. She seemed uncertain what to do, and Harry could see the care in her eyes when she forced herself to sit back down. He quickly went after Luria, who had already approached the cube.

Harry was told to close his eyes now, and he pressed them firmly shut. A soft whishing sound reached his ears, and he felt himself being pulled forward by a warm, sothing force. A hand touched his shoulder and he heared Luria voice order him to step forward.

As he did, he felt himself suddenly embraced in a what felt like velvet to his soul. From within him he heard a thundering voice, and at once he knew that this was the other prophecy.

_Reborn from darkness again he will rise_

_and not rest until he has extinguished the light._

_The source he will find and its evil will spread_

_will not stop until he will be seven times dead._

_Four souls will stand up, to bring forth his demise_

_fighting and hoping with all of their might._

_Yet still they won't win, hold they what they most care,_

_only the fifth soul, the unthought, will end their despare._

As soon as the last word had ended, Harry was forcefully pushed backwards, and still holding his eyes closed he stumbled out of the cube. Realisation hit him. The first part must have clearly ment Voldemort. 'will not stop until he will be seven times dead.' That were the Horcruxes. But then - four souls - that could only have to be him and Ginny, Ron and Hermione. "No. Not them." He thought to himself, "let them out of this." But what frightened him most was the last sentence, even he wasn't sure what to make out of this. 'still they won't win hold they what they most care' - he knew what he most cared, and there was no way he would let go of his love, and his friends.

"Noooooooo!" he cried out and sank in a heap at the floor.

"Harry!" McGonagall's worried voice shouted, and a chair was slumped over. In an instant he felt himself being pulled up and hugged by his Transfiguration teacher. After a short awkward moment he let himself be comforted by her.

"Harry, whatever it is, I am so sorry. It is not right that you must to bear all this. You have not deserved this."

He tried to steady his breath, and finally he succeeded. They had always found a way out when there didn't seem to be one, and they would this time, too.

"It's okay, Professor. It was just - intense."

Not wanting to betray his optimistic words by looking in her eyes, he took a step backwards and opened his eyes, glancing at Luria. The old wizard gave him an understanding nod. "I know the words of the prophecy, and how they must sound to you. But please keep in mind that things are not always what they look like. Every question can have more than one correct answer."

Professor McGonagall looked sternly at Luria. "What was he told?"

But the Grail's keeper shook his head in refusal. "It is not upon me to tell you. If Harry wants to share this with you, he will."

The Professor didn't respond, although it was clear that she was troubled.

Luria gestured them back to the desk. When they all head taken a seat again, he pulled a slim wooden box from one of the drawers in his desk. "It will soon be time for you to leave. Remember, time flows differently here. This is for you, Harry." He passed the box to Harry, who opened it carefully. Inside were five coloured stones, each about the size of a Galleon and only a half inch high. They were flat and each engraved with strange runes.

"These are Soul Stones. Just like the Grail, they own a connection to the Sefirot. But whilst the Grail connects to all of them, the stones only link to one. Their names are engraved on them, you should find out easily what they stand for. When the time comes, you will know how to use them."

"Sir, " Harry wanted to know more about the stones, but he was cut short by Luria.

"Call me Isaac, please. We are both servants of the light, so we should not need those formalities."

"Can't you tell me more about those stones, Isaac?"

"I would really like to, but I must insist that you go back. If you stayed here much longer, it would not be possible to leave anymore. Time is a very delicate thing. I wish you all the luck you can have, Harry. Shalom, Professor."

They both said goodbye and walked back in silence. Harry's mind was reeling, and his teacher's worried glanced showed that she was no better. Yet she didn't try to talk to him in the cave either, and he was glad about that. He didn't even mind the portkey travel back to the Ministry quarters.

Coming back there was like entering into another world. As soon as he had opened his eyes again Ron's excited voice called out from behind him. "Harry, mate? Where have you been!"

"Harry!" One of the doors pushed open, and Ginny flung herself into his arms. Just after her the rest of the Weasleys and Hermione came storming into the room, all eager to pull him into a hug. He wondered about the commotion, until he heard Ginny ask him: "What took you so long? We thought you had gone missing when you didn't show up the next day!"

"But it was only..." a few hours, he wanted to say, but then it dawned to him. "Time is a delicate thing," he muttered, smiling. Ginny shot him a questioning look. "I'll tell you later. How about something to eat?"

Soon they were all gathered in the kitchen and everyone tried to fill him in on what had happened while he had been away. Ron explained some of the new Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes' toys the twins had demonstrated the day before, and everyone laughed about his description of Mrs. Wealsey sprouting a long black beard. To his relief there had been no Death Eater attacks since he had left, that having been a little more than three days ago, how he learned.

After at last having been able to keep Mrs. Weasley to give him a fourth helping onto his plate - obviously she seemed to think he hadn't eaten for days - he told the others that he would take a short nap in his room. When Ginny, Ron and Hermione shot him disappointed looks, he quickly assured them that they would be the first to hear about his journey with, and asked them to wake him in two hours in the dorm. Finally he thanked McGonagall for accompanying him and he made his way towards his bed.

It didn't even take him a minute to fall asleep.

_AN_: The figure of Isaac Luria is derived from the original founder of spiritual Kabbalah, "Ari" Isaac Luria. He was born 1534 in Jerusalem and died at an early age. The theory of the Sefirot is indeed his. Of course, facts and figures in this story do by no means resemble the truth, but are rather inspired by it.


	5. Chapter 5 Relatives

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

_A/N_: Thanks IrishEyesAreSmiling for your review. Of course I won't let out who dies and who doesn't, but I think you can be optimistic. Thanks also to lovly elley. Glad you enjoy it, and I promise to keep on. I had planned a lot of action for this chapter, but halfway through it felt overloaded. So I'm keeping some ideas for the next few. Hope you all like those I've put in here. Have fun, and please, please review.

_Disclaimer_: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter 5 - Relatives**

„Isaac Luria? You met the real Isaac Luria?" Hermione was almost shouting from excitement.

„Shush, Hermione. Do you want the whole Ministry to listen in?" Harry asked concerned, and the girl blushed instantly. They had left him sleeping for little more than an hour, but he could understand they wanted to know what had happened. Now Ron was lying across his bed, his had resting on his folded hands. Hermione was sitting next to him cross-legged, rocking her knees up and down nervously. Harry and Ginny were both lying on his bed, Harry on his back and Ginny next to him, never letting her eyes wander away from his face.

Hermione quickly drew her wand from her pocket and cast a silencing charm on the door. „I should have thought of that." Her gaze went back to the blackhaired boy. „Do you know who he was? Isaac Luria was the founder of what the Jewish call 'spiritual Kabbalah'. A lot of the things we know about wizard's souls have been discovered by him, and he has invented completely new approaches for Arithmancy. He's one of the most famous wizards ever. But everyone thought he died when he wasn't even fourty. He..."

„Hermione!" Ron intervened. „You should really let Harry tell about his journey. You can give us the historics afterwards!"

Expecting the usual round of bickering from the two, Harry gave Ginny a bored looked, to which she smiled in understanding. To their suprise, Hermione went silent.

„I'm sorry. Go on, Harry."

„Well, Luria told me some things on how the world was created from magic, but I didn't really understand everything. It was about the magic being split in seven rings, or so, and everything being connected with those rings. Four of those rings contain good magic, and the other are dark magic. Then he explained that there is a link to all those rings in a big stone cube in the temple, and he said that's what people call the Grail."

He stopped, when Hermione's and Ron's eyes went big. „The – Grail? Just like in 'Arthur and the Holy Grail?" the redhaired boy asked.

Harry had to laugh. „That's exactly the question I asked him. And, yes, he said it is."

„Did you really see it?" Ginny wanted to know.

„No, I wasn't allowed to look at it. Luria said it would drive me insane if I dared to look at it. But he let me inside the cube with the Grail so I could hear the other prophecy."

No all three of his friends were hanging to his lips, their looks a mixture of excitement and fear. After some moments of silence Ginny asked cauteously: „Will you – will you tell it to us?"

He nodded his head. „I will. I have told all of you too late about the first prophecy, and I won't make this mistake again. I can remember every word of this one, as if it was edged into my brain:"

_Reborn from darkness again he will rise_

_and not rest until he has extinguished the light._

_The source he will find and its evil will spread_

_will not stop until he will be seven times dead._

_Four souls will stand up, to bring forth his demise_

_fighting and hoping with all of their might._

_Yet still they won't win, hold they what they most care,_

_only the fifth soul, the unthought, will end their despare._

There was a long silence, as everyone thought about the meaning of this prophecy. He could see a wet shimmer in Ginny's eyes, and she tried to look away.

„What is it, Gin?"

„What is it about all this prophecies?" His girlfriend wailed. „Why can't they just say how to destroy Voldemort? But no, everytime you think you have one riddle solved, there's a new one!"

Ron had tried to his best not to flinch at the mention of Voldemort's name. Hermione was straining her brain to make sense to what she had heared and started to talk, more to herself. „Let's see, seven times dead must mean the Horcruxes. The four souls – that must be us. But who is the fifth soul?"

Harry shrugged. „I don't know at all. The second part could really mean anything. But before we left, Luria gave me this." He stood up to fetch the box with the stones from his robe, which he had draped over a chair. The others rose as well and gathered around him to get a better look.

„He called those stones 'Soul Stones', and said they had a connection to the rings of magic, like the Grail, but not as powerful. Those engraved patterns show their names, and what they stand for."

Everyone took a look at the stones, running their fingers over the smooth surfaces. Hermione was completely in her thoughts, murmuring unintelligibly to herself. Suddenly her face shone with joy.

„I know what those are," she exclaimed, „those are Egyption Runes from the dynasty of Ra! We didn't learn them in Ancient Runes, as they haven't been completely translated yet, but this ones seem to be from the main alphabet. I'll ask Kingsley if I can lend a book from the Ministry's library too look them up."

With that, all they saw was a bush of hair racing out through the dorm door, not even bothering to close it. „There she goes..." Ron wasn't sure whether he should be glad Hermione had found something to work on, or if he should fear that he wouldn't see more than the tip of her nose buried behind books for the rest of their stay.

Ginny put her arms around Harry's neck and looked deeply into his eyes. „I'll go and help Hermione with her research. You try to relax a little, luv." She gave him a quick peck on the lips and was on her way.

After a little uneasy silence, Harry looked at Ron. „Care about a round of chess?"

„Yeah, fine."

They went over to the common room, and soon started to line up the figures on the board. Harry's did struggle a little, knowing they were bound to doom. Harry could tell that Ron had something on his mind, something that wasn't just about the prophecy. When they were playing their second match and Harry had been able to snatch Ron's pawn, he couldn't stand it any longer.

„What is it, Ron?"

„What do you mean?" His friend growled back.

„Come on, I know there's something bothering you. Just tell me what it is."

Ron's expression became really concerned. „It's just – you know, we already talked about you and Ginny yesterday, but that doesn't make me worry less. I think she couldn't stand it if you broke up again."

Harry felt a little relieved. Of course he had known this topic had to come up, and he had feared it a little. But better to get over with it. „I know, Ron, and I promise you that I won't break up again. You know, I did it only to protect her, but I really care for her, more than you can imagine."

„But I still don't get it. If you broke up with her to protect her, why did you make up now? He's still out there, trying to get to you."

„It makes no sense trying to hide it anymore. He knows how I feel for her."

„He knows? But how?"

„He's been into my mind again, I've told you yesterday, and he has shown me that he knows about me caring for her."

Ron went silent, and Harry got worried. From the mixture of emotions on his friend's face he could tell that whatever was going on in his mind, it wasn't good.

Finally, after a minute, Ron gazed at him determinedly. „You have to break up."

Harry couldn't believe what he heared. „What?"

„You have understood me. You have to. Now!"

„But why? I can't let her drop. Not now. Not ever."

Ron's face got flushed a deep red, and Harry was taken aback as he started to shout at him. „YOU! HAVE! TO! YOU CAN'T BE TOGETHER WITH HER! HE WILL KILL HER WHEN YOU ARE TOGETHER! I CAN'T ALLOW THAT!"

Harry was trying desperately to find something he could say to calm his best friend down, but he knew that at this point there was nothing he could do but make things worse. „Ron,"

„LEAVE HER ALLONE!" Ron had stepped close to him, staring threateningly in his eyes.

„Please,"

„LEAVE! GINNY! ALLONE!"

He gave Ron a last crestfallen look before he stormed out of the door. His mind filled with anger about his stubborn friend and fear to loose either his love or his friendship, he threw the door closed with all his might. When he saw Mrs. Weasley standing in the common room, a questioning look in her eyes, he began running. He ran out of the entrance to the flat, down several long corridors, corners and stairs, past Ministry workers and visitors that gave him startled looks, until he lost his breath. He stopped, panting, and looked around. The corridor looked like all the others in the Ministry, a lot of undistinguishable doors leading off left and right, and pictures of famous wizards on the walls. The door next to his right was halfway ajar. It looked like an empy, old classroom. He stepped inside and pulled the door closed, leaning against it with his back.

„Why can't there be a day without anyone fighting against me?"

„A good fight a day keeps the boredom away."

Harry started. He turn his head in all directions, but there was nobody else in the room but him. „I'm starting to imagine things."

„A good imagination can be a wonderful tool, if used wisely."

There, again, was the male voice, and it seemed to come from the left side. Just then his look fell onto the portrait of a very old wizard, wearing a big, twirled, grey mustache and sitting smirking on a writing disk.

„Welcome, Harry Potter. I would have expected you next year, but I am happy to finally meet you."

„And you are?"

„Oh, please excuse my rudeness. My excitement must have taken my good manners away. I am Frances - Frances Potter."

Harry's eyes grew wide. „Potter – but - are we related?"

The old man smiled at him genuinely. „I would say so. I am your grand-grandfather."

Harry was happy. He had never known anything about his father's family. Now he had a chance to talk with someone who could tell him at least a few parts of what he had missed. Even if it was only a portrait. „I'm happy to meet you, too. I've never met anyone from my family, or that I know of. Did you know my father?"

„I was already dead when your father was born, Harry, but I met him here in this classroom, when he attended Auror school. He talked with me occassionally. I am truely sorry for what happened to him and your mother."

„Can you tell me about him, and about the Potter family?"

„Of course, and it will be my pleasure."

The talked for quite some time, and Frances told Harry about the Potter family, how they built the house at Godric's Hollow, about Harry's grandparents, and about his father. He told him about quite some pranks that his father played in auror school. And, what made Harry sad, about the plans his father had had for life. He and Lily had planned to have at least two more children.

Sensing Harry's discomfort, Frances asked him how he had come here.

„I went here by accident. I was having a fight with my best friend Ron."

„What about – no, let me guess, you're a Potter – about a girl?"

„Yes, but not like you think. He wants me to break up with his sister, Ginny. But I really care for her, I can't live without her."

„Ahhh." The old wizard scratched his nose. „That's complicated. But maybe you should simply trust in time. I'm quite sure he will come around. Time is a wonderful thing -" he gave Harry a mischieveous blink with his eye - „delicate, but wonderful as well."

Harry almost coughed at this sentence. This morning Luria had said the same – time is a delicate thing. And the look Frances had given him seemed to indicate that he knew something he didn't say.

Just then the door flew open with a loud bang, and Harry jumped back. A familiar pink-haired figure stumbled into the classroom and sent a heap of parchment flying out of her arms and all across the room. Harry smiled.

„Hi, Tonks!"

The female Auror gave a little shrike. „Iehk, wotcher, Harry! Don't startle me like this ever again!"

Looking closer, she smiled back. „I see you met Funny Frances. Hi Frances, how're you doing?"

„Really well, Tonks, thanks for asking. I feel almost as young as I did when we first met." All three of them chuckled on that. Of course, a painted wizard didn't age.

Harry turned to Tonks. „You should have told me my grand-grandfather is Funny Frances. I would have loved to meet him earlier."

Tonks' eyes widened. „Grand-grandfather? Frances? Oh, I never asked for your surname, Frances. I really didn't know, Harry!"

„It's o.k., Tonks. What are you doing here?"

„I'm just setting up examn parchments for the second year Auror class. A few of them have to re-take their tests. But you could give me a hand putting a parchment and a non-cheating quill on every desk."

Harry didn't mind helping her to set up the room, and after they were finished, Tonks volunteered to lead Harry back to the flat. Luckily she didn't ask why he was here. It had been good to talk to Frances, and he didn't want to spoil his mood thinking about the quarrel.

„Goodbye, grandfather! I really enjoyed talking with you. Can I visit you again?"

„Of course. Anytime soon, dear Harry!"

He and Tonks went back to the flat through the maze of corridors, and Harry tried his best to memorise the way while telling Tonks about his talk with Frances.


	6. Chapter 6 Visions and Visits

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

A/N: Thanks IrishEyesAreSmiling for your review. You're right, some things can be expected. Hope you like how things are going. Thanks imconfused12345, too, I'm happy you like my fic, and from what I can say now it will go well above the 50000 words I had planned. I think something between 75000 and 100000 will be the final size. I have to admit I get frightened when I look at those numbers too closely.

I hope you can live with a week without updates. This Friday I got assigned to the companies quality management part time, on top of my regular job as an IT professional. With audits coming up end of February, I will have a lot of reading and practicing to do. But I'll try to reserve some time over the weekends for writing.

Nonetheless, enjoy reading! (And don't forget to review)

_Disclaimer_: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter 6 – Visions and Visits**

In a dark, narrow chamber, well hidden deep down in the rocks of a mountain, a lone figure was sitting on a throne made from black marble, his snake-like eyes focused on a very old piece of parchment. The corners of his mouth were twitching in anger. „Severus!" he bellowed. In an instant the old wooden door creaked open and Severus Snape, former Potions Professor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, entered, his head bowed. „What can I do for you, Master?"

„How could this happen, Severus?" Voldemort hissed at Snape.

The Potions Master raised his eyes and met Voldemort's chilling gaze. „Someone must have given away the information to them, intentionally or by accident, as it seems."

„CRUCIO!" The Dark Lord pointed his wand at the pale figure, and as the lightning that emanated from it hit home, Snape fell to his knees, winding himself in agony. He was held there for almost a minute, the feeling of blades cutting all through his body. Just when he was about to faint, Voldemort lifted the curse. „Do not cheek at me, Severus. I won't tolerate that again."

„Yes, master."

„Who could have been the traitor?" Voldemort's voice made clear that he wouldn't accept anything but a truthful answer.

„I did inform only Nott, Mulciber and Goyle, just like you told me to, Master."

„I will find out who did it, and he will get his punishment." Voldemort hissed, and the green form of his Snake, Nagini, shot out her tongue expectingly, gliding smoothly over the cold stone floor at his feet. „But tell me, how is our long term plan going?"

„Quite well, Master. Everything is set up, all we can do now is wait."

„Very good, my loyal servant. You may go."

„Thank you. Master" Snape bowed and hurried out of the damp iciness of the cave, that was filled by the high pitched, gleeful laughter of the Dark Lord.

„Harry? Harry, please wake up! What is it?" The worried voice of Tonks seemed to swirl all around him as Harry fought the mist that was clouding his perception. Finally he was able to open his eyes and found himself lying on the floor, just a few feet from the door to the Ministry's flat.

„What happened?" He croaked hoarsely.

„Oh thank Merlin! You had me really worried! You just fainted, and you were clutching your scar. You mumbled something about a traitor, but I couldn't understand much."

The memory came rushing back to him. Voldemort had been angry, and then Snape had been there, and they were up to something new. „I have to..." see Dumbledore, it was the first thought that came to him. „I need to speak with Professor McGonagall."

„Are you OK, Harry? Maybe you should take a rest first." The Auror regarded him with a motherly look in her eyes.

„No, I'm fine. I really need to talk to her." He rose from the floor, still feeling a bit dizzy. At least he was able to keep his last meal, he noticed with relief, as the wave of nausea that always accompanied his visions slowly ebbed away.

„Professor McGonagall should already be back at Hogwarts. Let's take the emergency fireplace just around the corner."

Harry followed her to a small room with a red door. He was happy the pink-haired witch didn't question him. When she took some floo powder from her pocket, throwing it into the fire and calling „Hogwarts, Office of the Headmistress!", he again felt that odd empty feeling in his stomach that he had gotten so familiar with since Dumbledor's death.

Within a second, the head of the teacher appeared in the fireplace. „Tonks, Harry, what is it?" She seemed to know they didn't call her just for fun, after all she had only left a few hours before.

Harry cleaned his throat. „I'm sorry to disturb you, Professor. I just had another vision." He explained the scene from the cave in detail to her, and she and the Auror listened patiently until he was finished.

„I see," the Headmistress finally said, „it is not much we can guess about his so-called long term plan, but at least we know that he suspects Death Eaters from his inner circle. That's more than we could have expected. Thank you for telling me immediately, Harry. Is there something I can do for you?"

Harry was again surprised. Since Dumbledore had gone, she seemed to have found some motherly qualities inside her that no one had expected. Professor McGonagall had always been the determined, strictly to the point going person. „No, but thank you. I think I should take a little rest now, otherwise I'm fine."

„Again, thank you, Harry. Just call me if you need something, or someone to talk. Goodbye."

„Bye, Professor."

The green flames in the fireplace died down, and a tired and worried Harry Potter together with a thoughtful Auror Tonks went back to the flat.

He hadn't even taken a complete step into the common room when a bush of red hair came bobbing across the room and Ginny flung herself at him. „Harry! You had us so worried!"

He silenced her with a kiss on her mouth. „I'm fine, Ginny. I didn't go anywhere."

When he lifted his head, he saw that Hermione and Ron had come over from the kitchen, Ron wearing a guilty look, not daring to make eye contact. He saw the Gryffindor Beater take in a deep breath before stammering quickly „I'm sorry, mate, for being such a git, I didn't really think, I was so worried about my sister."

„It's OK, Ron. Just promise me you don't repeat that ever again."

The red-haired boy seemed surprised. „Really? I mean – sure, I'll promise. No hard feelings?"

„No hard feelings."

Everyone in the room gave a breath of relief. They had already experienced once how dreadful things had been when Harry and Ron didn't talk with each other for a half year in Hogwarts, and nobody would have wanted to repeat that. Ginny, still holding her arms around his neck, look up to him seductively. „You shouldn't have let him off so easily. He would have deserved a good hex or two."

„Nah, I'll leave the hexing stuff to you." He smiled at her. „But feel free to practice on Ron if you come up with a good one."

That broke the tension, and apart from Ron, who still didn't look completely comfortable, everyone giggled.

„What made you change your mind then, Ron?" Harry inquired, but Ginny answered for him. „When we came back from the library we couldn't find you here, and Ron wasn't very talkative about what had happened. After I threatened him with a bat-bogey hex he told us his view of things, and then Hermione told him she would brake up with him if he didn't come round."

He turned his head back to his bushy-haired friend, now feeling himself guilty. He wouldn't want to the two to break up over him. They really were good for each other. „You wouldn't have broken up with him, would you?"

Hermione just shrugged. „I really don't know. But I told him that he should feel the same as you if he really insisted that you break up with her. Obviously that worked."

„Hey, I'm still there!" Ron shouted mockingly, and was answered by a synchronous „Shut up!" from both Hermione and Ginny.

„Now that's settled, so did you two find something useful in the library?" Harry changed the topic.

From the radiant look in Hermione's eyes he could tell they had been successful. „In fact, we have found a book on runes that should contain all of those on the stones. It has only be published a week ago. I'll go up into our dorm and try to translate them, so can you hand me the box?"

„Sure. You can fetch it yourself, it's on the top of my trunk."

„I'll go help!" Ginny exclaimed, and the two girls hurried away. Harry slumped into one of the cushioned chairs in front of the fireplace, and Ron settled down on the sofa.

„Look, mate," Ron started, but Harry cut him short with an assuring look. „Let it rest, I understand how you feel. If Ginny was my sister, and in some way I still feel like she is, I would probably reacted the same."

„Tanks, mate. So tell me, where have you been. The girls have searched every room around, the lobby, and dad's office, but you were nowhere to be found."

So Harry told him about meeting the portrait of Frances Potter, and they both shared a good laugh about 'Funny Frances'. He had to promise Ron to introduce him to his grand-grandfather the next day. But when he came to his vision of Voldemort, Ron grew first worried, then angry.

„Did you tell anyone about it?"

„Tonks knows, and I've talked with McGonagall. But please don't mention it to the girls. I don't want Ginny to worry about it. She's got enough on her mind right now."

„Yeah," his friend agreed, „we all have."

They were both silent, and Harry enjoyed being finally able to relax. He watched the flames, and soon he had fallen asleep. He was having a funny dream about Ginny hexing Ron to sprout treacle tart on his head when a loud bang startled him and he snapped awake. The girls where almost running through the common room, chattering excitedly.

„We have it, we have it!" Hermione jumped around them like a small child on Christmas. „It was sooo easy, I really had thought it would take us longer!"

„Calm down, Hermy!" Ron took her by the hand to stop her from dancing around. „Let's go into our dorm, and we talk."

They had just turned around to walk to the boys' dorm room when a cold chill ran down Harry's spine, and suddenly the air was filled by loud howling noise. Everyone clutched his ears protectively. When the noise died down it was replaced by a thundering voice. „ATTENTION! THIS AN ALARM! THERE ARE DEMENTORS IN THE ENTRANCE HALL! ALL AURORS GO TO PROTECT THE ENTRANCE HALL. THIS IS NOT A PRACTICE! I REPEAT, ALL AURORS GO TO PROTECT THE ENTRANCE HALL!"

The four of them paled, but Harry got himself together quickly. „What time is it, Hermione?"

„It's nine pm. Why?"

„There won't be many Aurors left in the Ministry at this time. We should go help them!"

Ginny looked at the determined look at his face and couldn't stop admiring him.

„Does anyone know how to get there?" Ron asked.

Hermione looked at him disappointedly. „Didn't you pay attention when we got here? I can't believe that."

„So that means you know the way?" Harry asked her, not acknowledging the bickering.

„Of course!"

„Everybody got your wands?"

His friends nodded their heads, and they stormed off after Hermione. It took them a few minutes to get to the entrance hall, and what they saw made their blood freeze. The hall was filled with what had to be more than hundred Dementors. Most of them were freely floating around, looking for possible victims. A group of three Aurors had hidden behind the rebuilt Fountain of Magical Brethren, and though their Patronuses were busy fighting of Dementors, they would soon be surrounded. Another three Aurors fought desperately at the other side of the hall, and Harry could make out Tonks' pink hairs among them.

They stopped an lined up next to each other. The well known creepy coldness touched Harry's heart, and in the back of his mind he could hear his mother's voice scream. 'A happy thought, I need a really happy thought!' He tried desperately to clear his mind from the agony, but the sheer mass of Dementors seemed to suck out every little happiness from his heart. The others didn't do any better, he noticed, everyone was standing his wand at the ready, but no one had spoken the incantation yet. A group of ten Dementors had spotted the pupils and was now zooming towards them.

Harry felt fear, what if he failed to create a Patronus? They would all die, Ginny would die – Ginny! The evening when McGonagall had first brought him here, the picture of Ginny kissing him, appeared in his mind, and he clutched onto it for dear life. „_EXPECTO PATRONUM!_" he shouted, his wand directed at their enemies, and a huge, silver stag emanated from his wand and went instantly for the approaching Dementors.

The Dark Creatures were not only driven back by the stag, but the silver animal tackled them so hard they went soaring all across the entrance hall. Seeing this also gave his friends the needed strength, and each of them sent an impressive Patronus on the way. The Aurors at the fountain had noticed them joining the fight and stared wide-eyed at the four teenagers.

„Direct the Patronuses to the fountain," Harry instructed his friends, „the Aurors there won't be able to hold them off on their own for much longer." One of the Aurors gave Harry a thumbs up when he realized they were clearing their back.

Tonks' group also seemed more at ease now driving the Dementors away, and soon the dark creatures were herded at the entrance. Just then a number of loud pops could be heard all across the hall, as more Aurors apparated there. The Dementors obviously realized that they didn't have a chance and fled out of the building, the Aurors on their heels. They floated away over the roofs, and some of the Aurors formed a chain outside the doors to prevent them from coming back in. Just as everyone in the hall lowered their wands and gave a relieved breath, a blinding lightning zoomed across the sky, and a giant green skull appeared hovering in front of the Ministry.

Harry noticed he was shivering, and so were his friends. Ginny's face was white as chalk. „Chocolate?" Harry managed to croak, and Ron's mouth went up into the hint of a smile. Fishing in through his pockets, he pulled out a handful of chocolate frogs, and quickly everyone snatched one from him. Almost instantly their faces got back some color.

„Oh-oh!" Hermione murmured.

Harry lifted his gaze. Tonks was storming across the hall towards them, shouting at them from twenty feet away. „What do you think you were doing here!"

Harry couldn't suppress a smile, as Tonks reminded him of Mrs. Weasley. „It's OK, Tonks, that were just Dementors."

„Just Dementors? JUST DEMENTORS?" Tonks seemed to gasp for breath. „We were seven fully trained Aurors here, and we really had troubles keeping them away. And you say just Dementors?"

Harry smiled broadly now. „If you put it like this, well, it was high time we showed up, don't you think?" It wasn't that funny, but as the tension from the fight lifted now and the chocolate did its work, his friends had to giggle about that. „Really, Tonks. It's not the first time we faced them. I wouldn't have let them hurt one of us."

Another familiar figure had joined their group. „Well done, all of you! I have to admit, every time we meet you lot get me more impressed."

„Thanks, Kingsley. But your Patronus wasn't bad, too!"

„Harry," the Auror went on with a look of excuse in his face, „I believe you won't be too excited about it, but the Minister would like to have a word with you."

Harry thought for a moment. „No."

Kingsley Shacklebolt looked startled. „Harry, you can't simply tell the Minister of Magic off."

Harry sighed. „I know. But if I'm going, my friends will accompany me."

The Auror nodded relieved. „Of course, that shouldn't be a problem. In fact, I think it's a good idea."

They followed Kingsley through the corridors of the Ministry, which were filled with people buzzing around nervously. When they reached the Minister's office, Tonks promised to wait for them outside. Harry took in a deep breath, trying to put aside his dislike for the current Minister of Magic, and they stepped inside.


	7. Chapter 7 Confrontation

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

_A/N: _First sorry to all my readers, it has been quite a long time since the last update. I really did try to get on, but a lot of things have been happening the last few months, and every time I managed to drag myself to my computer I got stuck in the plot line. I guess it's what they use to call a writer's block.

But now things seem better, chapter 8 is as good as finished. I'm just holding it back because I (or rather Harry and his friends) will make a few decisions that will be of utter importance for the whole plot.

But enough of that now. Have fun! (and do review)

_Disclaimer_: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter 7 – Confrontation**

As they entered the Minister's office they passed a wizard Harry recognized to have been involved in the fight at the entrance hall. Obviously he had given a report to the Minister the minute the fighting had stopped. Scrimgeour was sitting behind his huge desk and looking a bit disheveled. He turned his gaze towards the entering group and, for a blink of an eye, Harry recognized anger on his face, but that was instantly replaced by a fake smile that didn't reach his eyes. He motioned them to sit down on the group of chairs in front of his desk which that seemingly had already been arranged for them.

"Harry," the Minister addressed him with a stern voice, not wasting time with introductions, "I think you understand that this a somewhat difficult situation. As I have been informed, you have fought against a number of Dementors in the entrance hall, and there have been witnesses to that. Now we have not only the Dementor attack itself to explain, but also why you four took part in that."

"However," he added quickly, noticing Harry was about to say something, "this could as well be used to everyone's advantage. Considering the Ministry has given you and your friends a hiding place I would like to ask you a little favor on that matter."

Scrimgeour leaned back in his chair and mustered the four teenagers expectingly.

It was Hermione who answered to that. "And what, Sir, would that, uhm, favor, include?"

The Minister took some time till he responded, and Harry glanced around. Ginny was sitting uneasily in her chair, her left leg jumping up and down from nervousness, while Ron was completely focused on Hermione. "You see, Miss Granger, people would appreciate it very much if they knew that the Ministry and Harry were fighting alongside. Your - as I was told rather impressive - action here suggests just that. A statement for the papers from the four of you would assure them and push their morals."

Harry felt a knot in his stomach. He thought he had made it clear to Scrimgeour on a few occasions that he didn't intend to play the poster boy for the Ministry. But the Minister did have a point, they were dependent on him now, with the Burrow no longer a safe place and Grimauld Place not protected by Dumbledore anymore. Still he didn't believe in that 'pushing moral' thing Scrimgeour was so eager about. The Ministry was just reacting to Voldemort's threats if they had to, not seriously fighting against him.

"So what should that statement say, Sir?" He asked, trying to sound unimpressed.

"Well, nothing complicated. Just that you are alongside the Ministry and support their aims, and you could make it a point that you believe we are on the best way to defeat You-Know-Who. Regarding the question why you were here at the time of the attack, you could say you were simply making a friendly visit, as we certainly don't want to disclose your hiding place to the public."

With the last sentence the Minister's face had grown a satisfied smile, and Harry could no longer hold his dislike for the man. "I see you still haven't learned a bit from your predecessors' fates!" He nearly shouted. "Let's just bend the truth until it fits ourselves, put our head in the sand if we see things that hurt, and maybe if we wait long enough all those dark wizards will be gone! And by the way, " his voice was an angry snarl now, "I think you haven't released poor Stan Shunpike yet, either!"

His friends had paled at his outburst, and he could see Kingsley Shacklebolt standing next to the door with a terrified look on his face. The Minister himself seemed to be short of exploding and had gripped the edge of his desk with both hands, rising from his chair.

"How dare you address the Minister of Magic like that!" He shouted angrily at Harry. "I have really tried to be patient with you, as I have with the old fool Dumbledore. I have offered you protection, I have hidden your friends from the Death Eaters, but you are just an ungrateful, big-headed little boy. I should know better than to waste my time with you!"

Scrimgeour stared fixedly into Harry's eyes now, who had also risen from his chair. Neither of them showed any intention to brake the staring contest. Harry felt Ginny's hand grabbing his, and a soothing wave ran through his body. Yet he didn't even blink, but a thought came to his mind that almost made him smile. He straightened his shoulders and tried to give his best imitation of Dumbledore's determind and knowing look.

"Minister Scrimgeour," he managed to get his voice back to a soft level, "I am certain that you are aware that we both depend on each other in some ways. And rest assured that we do value the protection here at the Ministry. But," he paused shortly, trying to lay out his thoughts carefully, "you should equally value the support we are willing to return. I believe you have more than once been supplied with valuable information from the Order about the whereabouts and plannings of the Death Eaters. Nearly, if not all, action you took agains Voldemort's followers was based on that information."

The Minister seemed to pale noticably at this tirade, however Harry wasn't finished yet.

"I'll get directly to the point – we can and we want to continue to provide this kind of information to you, but only if we see that you are taking appropriate measures. We are at war, and if you continue denying that, we have to take matters into our own hands to make it clear to the public. We can either work together trusting each other, or we can leave it. But I think that neither of us stands a chance on his own. If we loose this war there will be no chance to try again, and I don't want to be the one having lied to people and made them wait until it was too late. Do you?"

After Harry's question the room was filled with silence, everyone seemed to be holding his breath. Scrimgeour was obviously fighting for words, and it took almost a minute until he dropped his stare and opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut short by Harry, who gave him a friendly smile and started talking again while seating him back comfortably into his chair, unsettling the Minister even more.

"I thought so much, and I am happy that we seem to come to an agreement. You want a statement from me, so you will get one. I'll be prepared to read it to the press and anyone else anytime the next days, but I will have complete freedom in what it contains. I will even promise you that I'll neither disclose sensible information nor create any panik with it. And," he let his gaze wander through the office, looking everyone straight into the eye, "I trust we can be sure that the details of our little, ahem, negotiation, will stay solely amongst the people present here."

The Minister seemed at a loss of what to do, and after getting no sympathy for the question look he sent to the present Ministry employees, he exhaled distinctly and settled himself back in his chair.

"I see you are even more stubborn than Dumbledor has been, if that is even possible. However, I see that you have a point. We will leave it with what you have said for now, and I think that a press conference will be announced tomorrow for the late morning. I will send someone to you when we know the definitive time. Now I think it has been enough for today, so I wish you all a good night."

They all waved their goodbyes quickly and almost fled from the office. Kingsley and Tonks escorted them back to the Ministry flat, where they were already awaited by an agitated Mrs. Weasley flanked by her husband and Remus Lupin. But neither of them did care, and when Mrs. Weasley started to ask questions about what had happened and tried to scold them for not noticing them where they had gone, Ron could hold himself no longer and broke down laughing.

Sitting on the floor and clutching his stomach the readhead asked between giggles, "Where did you pull that one out? I bet the git still doesn't know what happened to him!"

Kingsley and Tonks also had a hard time holding themselves together, while Harry just stood there with a beet-red face, all the awkwardness he hadn't allowed himself to feel now coming back to him at once. Ginny clung to his neck and look at him admiringly. Remus raised his eyebrow questioningly towards Hermione, who seemed to be the only one composed enough at the moment to give a compehensible explanation.

"You should have all seen how Harry has handled the Minister just now, that was unbelievable," she finally burst out it excitement and joined in with Ron's laughter.

It took them all nearly ten minutes to get themselves together, but finally everyone was seated on the couches and chairs in the common room. Mrs. Weasly had prepared a plate with breads for them all, and the told the whole story. When they came to the Dementors Mrs. Weasly made a bit of a fuss but was soon mollified by her husband, and seeing that there hadn't been an injury she settled to being just a little grumpy.

When they came to that part where Harry had started shouting at the Minister, Arthur Weasley had paled considerably and obviously expected the worst, but even he seemed to be pleased with the description of a speechless Scrimgeour giving in to Harry's wishes. After some more chatting about the whole thing Molly Weasley told them it was high time for some sleep and hushed them off.

While the others went to their dorms, Harry waited a bit longer to get to talk to Remus Lupin in private.

"Prof – Remus, can I talk to you a minute?"

"Of course, Harry, we can talk anytime you want to. What is it?"

Harry felt a little awkward under the imploring look of his former teacher. "I know that Ron and the others are totally excited about everything, but I wanted to hear your opinion if this was the right thing to do. I think I may have overstepped it a little."

The werewulf chuckled at him knowingly. "You see, Harry, this is another time you remind me so much of your father. When he was made Head Boy in seventh year he had to give an opening speech to the whole school, and while he never had problems expressing himself he was nervous as hell days before. And after he had given one of the most memorable opening speeches in the history of Hogwarts he locked himself in the Heads' common room for nearly two hours before we could convince him that he hadn't blown everything."

"So you think this was O.K.?"

"Not only that, I'm quite sure that it was the right thing to do."

Harry thought about that for some time, staring at some point in space. He knew that Lupin was right, but still it frightened him that his friends always seemed to get in danger around him. Finally, stiffling a yawn, he decided that those doubts could certainly wait for the next morning.

"Remus?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"Your welcome. But I think we should also get a hand full of sleep now."

"Right. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Harry!"

The two of them also left for their respective dormitories after yet another eventful day.


	8. Chapter 8 Unexpected Announcement

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

A/N: Thanks for the encouraging reviews! Those really mean something to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much, and I promise that Harry & friends will get out of the Ministry soon before any of you develops a claustrophobia.

_Disclaimer_: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter 8 – Unexpected Announcement**

When Harry opened his eyes again it was indeed hardly more than a handful of sleep, and he rubbed his eyes wearily. What it was that had awoken him, he couldn't tell. Noticing that he was all sweaty, he decided that a glass of water couldn't hurt, so he fished for his glasses on the nightstand and putting them on, he soundlessly slipped out of the dormitoriy and headed for the kitchen.

Harry Potter plunged himself into one of the chairs. The last bits of wood were gleaming slightly in the fireplace, but apart from that the room was completely dark. He sat there, just staring at the few speckles of light, trying to grab through his conscious for what it was that was keeping him from sleeping. Every now and then he sipped from his glass, but apart from that he didn't move.

Just when he was about to decide that sulking in the dark didn't do any good a lout shriek sounded only a foot or two near his head. Shocked to the bone he sent the half full glass of water sailing through the room, dove out of the chair instinctively and rolled over the floor, away from where the sound had come from.

While he was unsure what to do next a female voice whispered _Lumos_, and in the faint glow from her wand he could make out the pale and scared face of Ginny. Relieved, he let out a deep breath.

"God, Gin, you just scared the hell out of me!"

"Who do you tell that? You've got to be grateful that I was half asleep, otherwise I might have hexed you into tomorrow!"

Staring at each other a little embarrassed, they both couldn't suppress a giggle.

"I suspect you aren't half asleep any longer?" He couldn't help teasing her a little.

"Oh what a sharp reception. How on earth did you guess that?" But not turning her eyes away, her face quickly became sober. "Are you alright, Harry?"

"I'm fine."

As soon as he had said that, he knew that he had made a mistake. Saying so would have been enough to assure Ron and Hermione, but not Ginny. And as expected, the red haired girl was already rushing up to him and soon standing above him with sparkling eyes.

"Harry Potter! Just to get this right: I find you here, in the middle of the night, after a day that would have everyone sleeping into noon, sulking around in the complete darkness, not giving any sound, and you tell me you are fine?"

He couldn't help, but with the determined look and the flushed cheeks she looked prettier than ever, and his stomach did a few flips. The fact that Ginny hadn't minded to put on a robe and was just wearing short pajamas only added to that. Harry tried his best to look intimidated, but he simply couldn't get that obvious stupid grin from his face.

Sighing, Ginny sat down next to him, facing him. Putting her hand on his arm she looked into his eyes. "I'm worried, Harry. If you've got something on your mind, talk to me. Or to Ron, or Hermione, or whoever you think will listen. But don't sit around alone and keep everything to yourself." Pointing her wand behind here, she lit the fireplace with a short spell, and in a few seconds a cozy fire was again lighting the room. "What is it, Harry?"

It was really hard now to not get distracted, in the flickering light the spreckles on her skin glinted like hundreds of tiny stars, and he admired the softness in her expression.

"It's just – it's so much happening. My uncle throwing me out, the new prophecy and all that goes with it that I don't really understand, you and your family having to be perched up here like in a cage, rowing with Ron, the Dementors attacking us, and Scrimgeour still wanting me to be the Ministry's mascot. And the whole time I'm feeling so - " he struggled for the right word, but it was Ginny who completed his sentence.

"powerless. You're always just reacting to what happens next to you. You feel like a marble in a pinball machine, tossed around and never able to act on your own. And everytime you hit the walls it drains your energy, while you ask yourself if that will ever stop. Is that what you feel?"

For a moment he was speechless. Ginny had brought it exactly to the point.

"I'm sorry, Gin. Here I go on ranting about myself like I'm the only one who has to cope with all that, but..."

He was instantly silenced by a delicate little finger placed on his lips. "Shush. Don't go there, please. You're not selfish, and you're not responsible for all this. It's **you** who has this stupid prophecy hanging above his head like a sword. We at least had a choice, we could choose who we want to side with, but your choice has been made by Voldemort nearly seventeen years ago, without any means for you to change that. You're completely entitled to feel like you do. I just don't want to be left out of whatever you feel."

A warm wave of joy swept through him, one that he hadn't anticipated at all, and he pulled her close to him. "You know, Gin, you are the best thing that ever happened to me."

They sat there for a long time, just holding each other and feeling the closeness, but at some point his legs got stiff from sitting on the floor.

"Thanks, Gin."

"You're welcome. Anytime."

"I think we should try to get some more sleep."

Slowly, both reluctant to break the embrace, they got up and headed back to their rooms, and after a soft goodnight kiss the both slipped back into their dorms and beds. After not even a minute both of them were soundly asleep.

This time Harry didn't wake in the middle of the night again, and when he got up in the morning he felt refreshed in spite of the few hours he had slept. When he sat up in his bed Ron's was already empty, and from the common room he could hear the buzzing of voices.

He quickly showered and dressed before going to meet the others, who were having an agitated discussion, and from the looks it had been going on for some time. When he got closer he could hear Mrs. Weasley say "...and what if there are Death Eaters amongst them?"

Curious he asked, "Death Eaters? Where?"

"Oh, Harry, good morning. I was just about to send Ron to wake you up."

Everyone greeted him good morning, but from the corners of his eyes he noticed the look Remus was sending him.

"What were you talking about? Has something happened?"

Mrs. Weasley looked upset, but before she could respond Ron stepped in for her. "Tonks was there, she came from the Minister. He wants to give a press conference in an hour. Mum thought it would be too dangerous for us."

"I take it you didn't all agree with her?" Harry asked, his eyes fixed on Remus, who squirmed lightly under the gazes of him and Mrs. Weasley.

"Well, you're right. Ron said something alike 'even You-Know-Who wouldn't be dumb enough to start something in a room with fifty Aurors', and he does have a point there."

"But Remus, you saw what happened yesterday. What if one of the children..."

Mrs. Weasley couldn't complete her sentence, this time it was her husband who cut her short. "Listen, Molly, we all care for our children, and for Harry and Hermione just the same. But you can't stop live from going on, just out of fear, and lock everybody up. Besides, after yesterday's attack all Aurors have been ordered back to the Ministry. If something is about to happen, it is definitely not here and today."

Seeing that everyone had a different opinion from hers, Mrs. Weasley tried to calm down. Harry put on his most understanding smile, which wasn't hard to as Ginny had snuggled up to him and was holding his hand now.

"Don't worry about that, Mrs. Weasley. Your husband is right, today may be the safest day in the Ministry in a long time. We'll be careful nonetheless. But I've promised the Minister to give a statement, and I should really get started with it." He gave Ginny's hand an assuring squeeze and asked towards Ron and Hermione, "Would you two mind helping me with that?"

Of course the two agreed, and Harry told the others they would go up to his dorm and be back in half an hour.

A little more than thirty minutes later they descended back into the common room. Ginny was almost bouncing up and down from excitement, and Ron's cheeks where flushed from laughing. Hermione however semmed a bit worried.

"Do you really think that's not too much?" She asked.

"Oh come on, Mione," Ron answered her, "don't be a spoilsport. Of course Scrimgeour won't know what happened to him, but Harry's right. He knows that without the Order he'd be grounded."

In the common room they were greeted by Tonks. "Wotcher, you four! I see you're just in time. Remus should be here any minute, then we can head for the conference room. Are you really going to give a speech, Harry?"

Today the Auror had turned her hair to black, it shone almost blue. This made her look a lot older than she did with the screaming colors she normally chose. "Ah, Remus, everyone there, then lets go."

The waved a short goodbye to Mrs. Weasley and headed to the press conference. Mr. Weasley was already there, as Tonks informed them, to oversee the preparation of the room. The Metamorphagus explained a few details to him, and assured him he wouldn't need to cast the Sonorus spell on himself to be heared, as the conference room had a built-in amplification spell.

After a long walk through hallways and over stairs they reached the conference room, but that name turned out as a bit of an understatement. It was a square hall, roughly the size of the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and almost completely filled with neat lines of chairs. From what Harry guessed there must have been room for thousand people, and glancing at his friends he saw he wasn't the only one who had to gulp down his nervousness because of that.

Along each the walls stood about twenty Aurors, and on the end of the room on a podium that was two or three feet higher than the rest of the room, a table reached from one side to the room to the other. In its middle it had a small stand. Tonks ushered him to take place in the second chair to the left of the stand, and just as he sat down the reports started to flock into the hall like sheep.

Ginny gave him a reassuring squeeze on his hand a short peck on his cheek before she followed her brother, his girlfriend and Tonks to the corner of the room. For nearly fifteen minutes the room was filled with the scraping of chairs on the ground and the crackling of parchment until everyone had settled down with his writing tools ready.

As the Minister still wasn't there all looks were focused on Harry, and he the more he waited the more he became aware of the mass of people he was going to speak to. He began to doubt if what he was about to say was really that good an idea as he had initially thought. But just as he thought he couldn't sit still any longer the doors behind him flew open with a bang and Minister Scrimgeour entered, flanked by two very important looking wizards.

He went to the stand with determined steps and clapped his hand. At this everybody became silent in anticipation.

"Dear Wizards and Witches," his voice did indeed not need the Sonorus spell, as it seemed to come from every direction at once, "I thank you all for coming here. As you have been informed there has been an attack on the Ministry yesterday. I can assure you that nobody has been injured, as our Aurors responded instantly and effectively to the threat of the about thirty Dementors that tried to get past the entrance hall."

At the mentioning of the Dementors the background noise had started to rise, and now a number of reporters were shouting questions, ignoring the fact that in this commotion nobody would be able to understand them.

"Please, silence." The Minister again clapped his hands and once again the noise died down. "As I said, there have been no injuries, and I also want to oppose any rumours about anybody else involved in the fight. It is true that visitors were in the Ministry at the time of the attack, but apart from our Aurors noone else was close to the incident."

Harry couldn't help but flinch slightly at the outright lie, but the reporters seemed to gulp it down without doubt. He had to admit that Scrimgeour had his way with them.

"This leads me to the more positive aspects of todays conference," the Minister continued, "and that is the friendly visit Mr. Harry Potter has given us yesterday to inform himself about the measures the Ministry is taking in those dangerous times. He has asked me if he could give a short statement to you as well. Please, Mr. Potter!"

Harry clumsily rose from his chair and walked the few steps to the stand, where the Minister gave him a short pat on the shoulder before sitting down on the chair next to him.

He was really nervous now, and while smothing out his parchment which he had absentedmindly crinkled while listening to Scrimgeour's speech, he tried his best not to look at the assembled crowd.

"Dear Witches and Wizards," he began, wondering if there was another way to address the reporters, "first of all I want to thank you for taking your time. As the Minister has explained, we have talked about the measures the Ministry is taking against Voldermort and his followers."

At the mention of the dark wizard's name a collective gasp filled the hall. Harry collected his breath and didn't dare to look at Scrimgeour, for he know the next paragraph would earn him at least a huge yelling.

"I must say that I have great respect for the determination the Minister is showing, especially after all the denial of facts by his predecessors. The Minister has assured me that the Aurors will no longer just respond to attacks, as he is about to form a new Auror hit squad that is going to actively hunt down and track dark wizards. He also assured me that the Ministry is aware of the importance of this battle, so they will seek the support of other magical races that are equally in danger."

As expected, hell broke loose at this point. The reports were jumping and yelling questions, and it took almost five minutes until everyone had settled down again. A few of the reporters even had to be pushed back to their seats by Aurors and threatened to be thrown from the room.

"So, that was about all. I thank you for your attention." With that Harry went back to his chair, relieved that he had this over.

Again a tumult broke out, everyone of the reports trying to scream his or her questions louder than their neighbour. As it turned out it was impossible to get them back to attention. The Minister walked out of the hall with a calm smile, gesturing Harry to follow him, but from a close up view it was obvious that he was steaming. Harry braced himself for the rebuke that was about to come. Looking back he saw Ron nodding with an assuring smile that also said "I'm glad I'm not you".


	9. Chapter 9 Cunning and Planning

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

_A/N:_ It took me a while than expected to get this chapter in shape, but seeing it is the longest so far I hope you will forgive me :)

Many, many thanks for the encouraging reviews you gave me! I hope my replies found their way, as there have obviously been some issues with the mail system. So if you reviewed and didn't get an answer from me, please let me know.

I very much enjoyed writing this chapter, although I had to toy around quite a bit, removing some passages, that I had the feeling were overloading it. Every time I finish a chapter I find that I will have to increase the planned number of chapters, and I must confess this sometimes frightens me.

If you enjoy reading this, please let me know and review!

_Disclaimer_: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter 9 – Cunning and Planning**

The room Harry had followed the Minister in was hardly bigger than a broom closet and most probably some kind of tool storage, as there only a few boards along the walls and no chairs or tables. Scrimgeour had waited for Harry to enter and slammed the door shut before turning at him and shouting angrily.

"What the hell did you think, boy!"

Harry had a hard time not being intimidated by the growling voice, but he had prepared himself for the inevitable confrontation and made up his mind in advance. "I will tell you exactly what I was thinking, Minister," he responded with an equally loaded voice, "I was thinking that simply waiting for what happens will do no good, and every day the Ministry waits to see if things settle themselves by their own accord, people are suffering and dying out there. And I think that we won't be able to stop Voldermort alone, we need everybody on our side we can get, no matter if house elve, goblin or werewulf. If we wait for too long they might even seek their luck in siding with Voldemort!"

"You... How..." the Minister seemed at a loss for words for few moments, and when Harry noticed he couldn't argue against that he had a hard time not to smile.

"But are you aware, Mr. Potter, what your words mean to the public? That was anything short of a declaration of war!"

No Harry's temper rose to an equal level as Scrimgeour's. "And what's the problem with that? Do you want to go on assuring everything is all right and wait until the whole wizarding world has fallen to pieces? What do you call it then when it isn't a war? If lost two of the closest people I had on two separate occassions in this war that you don't consider one, and I've seen other people die as well."

"You don't understand boy, " the Minister shouted back, "if we go out into the open with this fight more people will take sides, and not everyone will take ours. There will be even more victims!"

"There **will** be more victims, no matter what you do. The question is if you want to end this!"

The Minister now seemed ready to explode to pieces, and Harry could see him shaking from head to toe. "Who am I that I need to be lectured by a schoolboy? You should be grateful for all the support you and your friends got from us!"

"I am grateful for that, even if you don't believe me, but I won't stand by and watch my friends and family get killed by Voldemort!"

"That's enough of that. I needn't listen to that any longer!" With that the Minister turned on the spot and stormed out of the room, pushing through a startled croud of people that had assembled just outside the door.

Most of them where easily recognized as Weasleys by the red of their hair, Hermione, Remus and Tonks were also there as was McGonagall, and almost everyone started at him disbelievingly. Obviously every word of the disagreement had been audible out there. He slowly left the room too and found himself between the grinning faces of Fred and George Weasley.

One of them, most probably George, lay a hand on his shoulder. "We were really lucky that we made it in time for your speech," he began, and Fred picked his sentence up, "or we would have missed the best round of kick-the-ministers-arse ever!"

"Fred!" the voice of Molly Weasley could be heared from among the group.

"And this was the second time in twelve hours. I think that was an all time best." Tonks informed the twins, who made wide eyes.

"The second time? Harry, you are our hero!" they managed to shout in complete synchronization.

The group started back to the family quarters, Ron and the twins talking excitedly about the incident. Ginny was alternating between holding his hand and mixing in to the boys' discussion. Tonks and Remus were whispering between the two of them. He dropped a little back to walk next to Arthur Weasley.

"Mrs. Weasley?"

"What is it, Harry?" The wizard had a calm expression on his face and Harry couldn't tell what he thought about the whole thing.

"I hope you won't get trouble for what I did?"

"Not at all, Harry. And even I did, it was due time that someone pushed the Ministry in the back a little, and I'm proud of the courage you've shown."

Mrs. Weasley had also joined them. "We all are proud of you, Harry."

She was just about to get him into on of her famous Molly-hugs when a discreet cough from McGonagall rescued him. "I must say, I'm impressed too. After all, I begin to see why the Sorting Hat had wanted to place you in Slytherin. Well done!"

"Ahem, Mrs. McGonagall?" Harry look at her tentatively. There was something he had to ask her for, and now was probably the best time for it.

"Yes, Harry?"

"I was wondering if we, meaning me, Hermione and Ron, and perhaps Ginny, would be allowed to stay at Hogwarts for the remained of the holidays?"

"But Harry, we all can stay here!" Mrs. Weasley intervened with a troubled look.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley," he answered her softly, "but me staying here won't do any good. You've witnessed the disagreement between the Minister and me, and I doubt this will be the last one. If I stay any longer, this may mean that we all get thrown out of here. And it won't be safe here much longer, if I get seen too often Voldermort might notice where I am and concentrate his attacks on the Ministry building. Remember, he has been able to get in here once."

The determined voice of McGonagall left no time for Molly Weasley to reply. "I've been expecting that, Harry, and what Albus had informed me you've got some unfinished tasks, for which Hogwarts would be a good starting point. Over the last days the wards there have been enforced, so it should be reasonably safe."

They finally reached the family flat and Harry told his friends and the twins to meet in the common room in two hours. Being asked what for he only gave a vague answer. Everyone went to the kitchen where Molly was instantly busy preparing food, seing that most of them had overslept and missed breakfast.

They spent a relaxed half an hour eating and discussing how the Ministry was likely to act now. After everyone was finished Harry helped doing the dishes and was soon alone in the kitchen with Mrs. Weasley.

"I'm sorry I didn't ask sooner, but how's Bill?" He asked her. He had nearly forgotten that the eldest of the Weasley brothers had been serverely injured at the fight at Hogwarts, and he felt guilty for it.

"Oh Harry!" Mrs. Weasley instantly seemed at the edge of tears. "He's coping quite well. He will have quite some scars remaining, but apart from that most of the wound has healed."

Harry was relieved that there hadn't been any complications. "So will the wedding take place?"

Now Mrs. Weasley's face became less thorrowful. "Yes, the wedding will be on the twelfth of August." A small shadow crossed her eyes. "But they have decided to get married in France, it's safer there."

He nodded in understanding. "So you are all going there?"

"Harry, **we** are all going there. You are family too, and Fleur would skin me alive if we didn't bring you with us. But I thought Ron would have told you already?"

"Well, with all the things happening, we didn't really get to talk about it."

"I see. But you will soon get an official invitation by owl anyway. But do you really need to stay at Hogwarts for the summer?"

Harry had dread that question, knowing how much Mrs. Weasley feared to let her children out of her sight. "I must, and I know that Ron and Hermione wouldn't stay behind. As with Ginny..."

"She's too young for such dangerous things!" Mrs. Weasley stated.

"...I know you worry about her even more, if that's possible. But I don't think you would be able to tell her to stay with you, nobody would. But I promise that I will look after her as good as I can. I couldn't live on if anything happened to her." And with a low voice, almost a whisper, he added, "I love her."

"Oh Harry!" Mrs. Weasley shouted again, this time her tears flowing free, taking him into a firm hug. "I know how much you mean to each other. But you really don't deserve all the danger and cruelty you had to go through. I don't want to loose any of you!"

Feeling the sadness himself, he hugged her back, and felt strangely comforted. "I know. We'll be as careful as can be. Thank you, Mrs. Weasley!"

"It's really time you drop the Mrs. Weasley," she told him with slight smile on her tearstained face, "please call me Molly."

"Thank you, Molly."

After a few minutes he excused himself from Mrs. Weasley. He was a little tired now and wanted to get an hour's nap. Seeing the empty common room he guessed that he wasn't the only one with this idea, and as expected he found Ron snoring deeply in his bed. Not waisting time he put his glasses on the nightstand and dropped onto the bed without undressing. A minute later he also was asleep.

Stretching his body and stiffling a yawn Harry awoke a little more than an hour later to find Ron's bed empty again. He was a little starteled as he didn't have a clock with him, but hopefully he hadn't been letting the others wait for too long. Then he calmed himself. Ron woud have woken him up. As expected everyone was already down in the common room and waiting for him.While Hermione was whispering something into Ron's ear, the twins greeted him with mock bows.

"If this isn't..." Fred began.

"...his majesty, our fondest..." George continued his sentence.

"...Sponsor of the year." Fred finished. "Who will..."

"...eventually do us the grace..."

"..and tell us why we are..."

"...waiting here for hours!"

"Hours?" Fred slapped his brother on the back of his head. "Days on end!"

"Now that was inappropriate aggressive behaviour to show in his gracious presence, brother o' mine!"

"Allright, stop it!" Ginny yelled to them. "You two..."

Harry grinningly took up her sentence, "...are unbearable together!"

"Enough," Hermione intervened, "I'm getting dizzy!" Ron mumbled something incomprehensible, but Harry was rather sure he made out the word _mental_ somewhere in his ramblings.

Hermione's look rested on Harry expectingly. "So what is it about?"

"Not here. But I think I know just the right place for a little private talk." He explained smiling. "And it will give me the opportunity to introduce you to a relative."

Now everyone stared at him wide eyed. Ginny however, who had been leaning at his shoulder, had a flick of a doubt shadowing her face. "What did you keep from us, Harry?"

He quickly recognized the look and grapped for her hand, pressing it assuringly. "Nothing to worry about, just something I only recently discovered. Oh, Hermione, would you mind writing a short note to the Weasleys, or whoever comes in, that we are just down the corridor? I don't want Mrs. Weasley to put the whole Ministry in alarm."

The bushy haired witch nodded and instantly produced a quill and parchment from the pockets of her robes to scribble a few lines. Putting it on the table they all left following Harry, who was pleased that he slowly began to find his way in the Ministry's labyrinth of corridors. Soon they had reached the training room where Tonks had found him after his row with Ron. Opening the door just a slit and prying inside, he announced the coast clear and the went in. Closing it again, he quickly put a strong silencing charm on it that Hermione had researched for the DA two years ago.

Slowly walking over to the portrait he couldn't help himself but grin all over the face. Frances was sound asleep in his chair, and Harry kept nearing until he was only a foot away with his face before he let out a load cough. The wizard almost toppled over in his chair.

"Wha...? This is... Oh, Harry, good to see you!"

"May I introduce everyone," Harry said, stepping to the side so his comrades could get a full view, "this is my grand-grandfather, Frances Potter," and, blinking his eye, he added, "also known as _Funny Frances_."

Hermione gave out a squeek of delight. "Frances Potter? You have fought at the last Goblin Rebellion, didn't you?"

The man in the portrait raised an eyebrow. "I see, you have done your homework, pretty Lady." Hermione blushed furiously at that title, and Harry could sense that she got conscious of her outburst. But the Harry's ancestor didn't loose his smile for a second. "But I would be greatly honored to get to know the name of such a rare flower."

Hermione obviously was at a loss for words, and Ron snickered shortly before being stuck in the ribs by Ginny and being given a menacing glare by his girlfriend. Harry took it to him to introduce all of them, but when he came to Ginny Frances exclaimed. "No, don't tell me more, young Harry. This pretty redhaid must be your girlfriend! Or if not, it's high time you did anything about it!"

Harry looked at the old wizard disbelievingly. He was sure that he and Ginny had shown no sign of their relationship since they had entered this room. "How do you...?"

The man chuckled behind his beard. "You know, Harry, if I recall correct there hasn't been a Potter woman other than red heads for five or six centuries now. No other woman could tame a real Potter. And with the flames I see sparkling behind those lovely eyes, I'm sure no Potter could do anything other than fall for her."

Now it was Ginny's turn to blush from head to toe. But Harry cleared his throught meaningfully. "Now, as much as I would like to continue with this smalltalk, I've got something on my mind I wanted to talk with all of you about."

The others again eyed him expectingly.

"The last few days really gave me a headache," he began a little unsure where to start, but soon his face got a determined look, "there's too much going on everywhere, and I won't stay here for very much longer, locked up and unable to do much. We're no better than the Ministry Aurors here, just reacting to everything that happens!" His voice got sharp, and he began pacing up and down in front of them, just like he had done at DA meetings when he was strained. "I don't want to be only reacting, I need to act ahead of Voldemort!"

Amongst their group, noone gasped at the mentioning of the dark wizard's name.

"I will turn the table on him, I'm fed up with him dictating the whereabouts of my whole live!" He really got angry now, and the twins, not knowing him as well as the others, took a slight step back, as he ranted on.

"And I have a few tasks to perform before I will be able to vanquish him, that I can hardly complete while being here."

Now the twins' faces looked stricken. Fred was, like most times, the first of the two to gather his thoughts. With a honesty that was seldom seen with the twins he addressed Harry. "What do you mean by 'before you will be able to vanquish him'?"

"Sorry, I forgot that you two don't know everything by now. But you must promise me," and he sent them a demanding look, "that you don't talk about what you will hear to nobody."

Fred and George both nodded their heads in agreement, and Harry explained to them about the prophecy, what had happened in detail at the Department of Mysteries, and about his and Dumbledore's search for the Horcruxes that lead to the death of his mentor. He also described again the second prophecy and the mysterious Soul Stones. He was only interrupted a few times by gasps from the twins, or by the others filling in minor parts from their own experiences. It was rather hard for him to relieve those moments, but Ginny had her arms wrapped around him and nuzzling comfortingly into his neck whenever he was about to be stuck in the memories.

It took quite some time to explain everything, but when he was finished the twins stood next to him with determined expressions.

"Just so you know..." George put his hand on Harry's left shoulder, while Fred put his on the right.

"...we will be in with you..."

"...no matter what happens..."

"...'till it's over..."

"...after all..."

"...you're family."

Harry smiled at the two with wet eyes. How on earth, he wondered, did he deserve such loyal friends, and when Ron declared "We all are!" he had to look down and fix a very interesting spot on the floor to keep himself from getting overwhelmed. He knew this was a crossroad he was setting his foot on, and though he had tried so long to keep things to himself, he felt that he wouldn't be able to walk the road alone.

He was close to getting overly soppy, but the voice from his grand-grandfather rescued him. "I don't know if I can be of much help, but this is a deed more than worthy for a Potter, and I'd want to take part of it."

Harry gave him a friendly smile. "Thanks!" Then an idea dawned to him. "In fact, I can imagine very well how you could help us!"

The old wizard looked eager. "How so?"

"Is there another portrait of you around?"

Comprehension dawned in the face of the old man. "Indeed! Quite clever, I must say. Yes, there is one in the third room to the left. It hasn't been used in the last twenty years, so it will hardly catch someone's eye if something is missing. Oh," he blinked his eyes conspiratorially, "and there is also one in the hallway next to the Minster's office."

"So you would be willing to function as a messenger, and, let's say, extended ear, for us?" Harry inquired.

"Funny Frances, at your service!" The painted wizard tipped his fingers to his eyebrow.

"But where do you want to go to, Harry?" Hermione asked curious.

"I wondered when you would ask. I've talked with McGonagall, she agreed to let us stay at Hogwarts for the rest of the holidays."

"Cool!" Ron exclaimed, then instantly turning sober. "But Mum will..."

"No need to worry." Harry intercepted. "It's all been settled, I've talked with her today and she agreed."

Now all of the Weasleys looked stunned. Ron was first to catch his breath. "But certainly not..."

"Don't you dare say what you are thinking!" Ginny exclaimed furiously. "I will go where Harry goes! Period!" And with that she stomped on the floor.

Harry turned to her, chuckling, and caught her in a tight embrace. "Don't think I would let you wander out if my sight for a second, Gin. You're going with us." He gave her a deep kiss, which she answered first hesitantly, then more and more eagerly, until the room seemed to spin around his head.

"Awww, thats..."

"disgusting! Leave our sister..." The twins shouted.

"...or we might hex you. Chosen one..."

"...or not!"

Harry turned his face towards the twins. "You think you are really up to face the mistress of the bat-bogey hex?"

"If you put it this way..." Fred let his glance wander all around the room, George following his example.

"...i think we have temporarily..."

"...gone completely blind."

After that, they pulled together some chairs and planned their departure for the next day. Hermione forced them to pull up a timeline for the next few days, and what topics they wanted to research. Ron groaned when she announced they would have to get up at seven every day, but after Harry pointed out that they only had ten weeks before Hogwarts reopened, he grudgingly accepted it.

The twins would help them with the practical side of destroying the Horcruxes, as they were both quite adept with unknown spells. And, as Ginny exclaimed, it wouldn't hurt to have a number of eyes watch Diagon Alley. She also suggested that they make short visits to Harry's vault at Gringotts and to Grimauld Place, to lock for any items and books that might help them.

Hermione suggested they also included the Order in their plans, but Harry was a little hesitant about that, and they settled on having a long talk with McGonagall before deciding on that.

Frances also put in some suggestions here and there, and finally they declared their plan sufficient for the time being. They all waved their goodbyes to Frances, and after Harry quickly snuck into the third classroom to the left and picked the other portrait of him from the wall, they started back to the flat.

Along the way Ron and Hermione had their usual, playful bickering about Ron's ever growling stomach. He complained loudly that missing breakfast was a form of corporal punishment, only to receive a desperate sigh from the others. Harry himself felt relieved that things seemed to get into motion.

When they reached the entrance he let the others go first and held Ginny back by her hand. He pulled her in his arms and was once more astonished how soft she felt. A feeling of lightness, as if he was hovering a few feet above the ground, spread from his stomach. Looking deeply into her eyes he became more serious. "Do you think...?"

He couldn't complete the sentence, as Ginny put her fingers across his mouth. "It will be allright. I trust in you, we all do." With that she pulled him close into a kiss, and a few seconds later he didn't even remember what the question had been.

Ten minutes later Harry and Ginny entered the common room, both looking rather flushed in the faces and quite out of breath. If the others had noticed it, they didn't let it on, and they both were grateful for that.


	10. Chapter 10 Preparation

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

_A/N:_ Thanks to all reviewers. I hope you like this chapter just as much. Though I have to warn you, there comes a cliffy. I simply couldn't help myself...

I hope you aren't too pd off by me taking so long to update. I've been rather busy with work, with a lot of unexpected work coming up, and quite some trouble in private didn't make it easier to find time to sit down and write.

_Disclaimer_: All credit for creating this wonderful world I play with goes to J.K.Rowling. All rights are held by her, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, Warner Bros., Inc and others. No copyright infringement intended, and no money being made from my frantic scribbling. I bow to J.K.R., as going on with my story makes me aware of all the hardships she must have gone through writing her books.

**Chapter 10 – Preparation**

Back in the common room Harry had agreed to a few rounds of Wizard Chess against Ron, and like everytime, got beaten in each. Ginny had wandered off together with Hermione, and the twins had flooed back to their shop after a short visit to Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen, who was already busy again preparing dinner.

Ron had told Harry the latest news about Quidditch. Seemingly there had been some complications lately, as more than a handful of muggleborn players had quit with their teams and gone to play abroad.

A while later they had all sat together in the kitchen for dinner and filed in Mr. And Mrs. Weasley on their schedule for the next day. Mrs. Weasley had been hesitant when they had told her about visiting Grimauld Place, as the former headquarter was no longer protected by the Fidelius charm. Mr. Weasley came to their rescue and assured her that he would ask Alastor Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt to check the place beforehand. With the house being searched by the two most skilled Aurors in Britain she finally agreed.

They settled for a tight schedule, as Harry also needed to visit Gringotts and Hermione had to restock her quills and parchments.

After Ron gave a yawn that lasted almost a minute they took it as the signal and excused themselves to bed. Before laying down Harry gave Hedwig a few treats which she took rather reluctantly, but when he told her they would leave here tomorrow she gave a joyful hoot and nipped his finger affectionately.

Whishing Ron a good night he pulled the blanket over himself and went to sleep.

The next morning found the small the kitchen ready to burst. In addition to the regular occupants, Moody and Shacklebolt had arrived just in time for breakfeast, as had Tonks and Remus. Fred and George had filed in a few minutes later and were now sitting in a corner together with Moody, all three of them a mischeavous smile across the face and whispering about an open box of which the others failed to see the contents. Hermione and Ginny were discussing the latest issue of Witch Weekly that had come out the day before, and Harry wondered how on earth they had got their hands on that.

A while later Moody and Kingsley went to floo to Grimauld Place. Harry was just finished with his bread when Shacklebolt was back, declaring the coast clear for them to floo over. Moody had stayed behind to assure that no unwanted visitors would turn up in between.

The four teenagers fetched their cloaks and assembled in front of the fireplace. Throwing a hand full of Floo Powder into the fire, they shouted "Number 12, Grimault Place!" and stepped into the green flames..

At headquarters Harry stumbled out from the fireplace with a little cough and whisked the soot from his robes. He turned just in time to catch Ginny in his arms.

"Heya, had a nice trip?" He asked her mockingly.

"Like I didn't know who's the biggest fan of floo travel!" She nicked back.

They stepped aside to make room for Ron and Hermione, who both looked equally excited and were both swiping soot from their faces.

"So were do we start?" Hermione asked with a quick look around.

"Maybe..." Harry began, but was interrupted by Ron.

"How about the cupboard where Kreatcher was hiding his things?" He asked, and everyone looked at him wide eyed.

"Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?" Ginny asked in a fearful voice.

"Oh stick it, I'm allowed to have a good idea once in a while!" He retorted.

When they were out in the corridor they met Moody, who was guarding the entrance. His magical eye was spinning madly, trying to cover all directions at once. "Looking for something in particular?" He asked them.

"Ah, no." Ron answered, while at the same time Hermione said "Yes. Just something Sirius had wanted to give to Harry."

Harry could tell that the old Auror didn't quite believe them, but was relieved when he only gave a sharp look and told them to hurry up.

Opening the cupboard expectingly, they found it completely empty. Apart from a few spider webs which made Ron jump back.

Ginny stomped her foot to the floor disappointedly. "How will we find it then? This house is too big to look everywhere in the short time."

"Maybe Sirius has thrown it away," Ron surmised, "after all, we did put it to the rubbish. Or maybe Dung has taken it."

He failed to notice the flash that had crossed Hermione's eyes at Ginny's sentence. "Ginny, that is it! Too big!"

The others looked at Hermione flabbergasted. "And in plain English?" Harry asked.

"Don't you see?" she asked them. "It's way too small!"

Ron scratched his head and Harry ran a hand through his unruly hair, both staring at the cupboard inquiringly. Still it was just a cupboard.

Harry turned his gaze to Ginny questioningly, but the readhaired witch had a huge smile across her face. "Hermione, you're a genius! I wouldn't have noticed in ages!"

With that she ran to the kitchen door and looked around the corner, only to jump back to them excitedly. "Oh it's so obvious nobody would have noticed."

"Will you two enlighten us too?" Harry questioned.

After some giggling between the girls Hermione pointed inside the cupboard. "You see, the cupboard is only little more than a foot deep. But if you look at it from the other side you see that the back wall extends into the kitchen four or five feet. I think there's a charm on it."

"Do you know how to lift it?" Ron asked, finally understanding.

"Why does it always have to be me who has to know all the spells?" She asked back.

"Because," Ron answered her with a smile, "you are the brightest witch in the whole century."

Hermione's face blushed furiously at that.

"So let's try a simple one. _Revelo_!" She swished her wand at the cupboard, but all it did was to give a faint yellow glow. With a determined look on her face she tried spell after spell, some basic ones and some Harry and his friends had never heard before, but those showed even less effect. Grudgingly she shoved her wand back into her pocket.

"Maybe I was wrong and it isn't charmed at all."

But Ginny put her hand on the shoulder of the bushy haired witch. "Or maybe Harry should try it. After all, Sirius has left the house to him. The charm could very well only work for the rightful owner."

Harry pulled his wand out, and the others took a step to the side. "_Revelo_!"

Instantly the cupboard was filled with a bright golden glow, and when it had diminished the back wall had vanished, allowing their gaze to hit upon an assortment of things. The cupboard now was, as Hermione had guessed correctly, nearly five feet deep, and it was crammed with all sorts of things, most of them magical. Cauldrons in all sizes were to be found, jewellery or household items like old cups and goblets.

The four of them gasped at his, even more when their looks fell upon the item that lay on top. A very familiar looking locket, bearing the crest of a snake which made a perfect 'S'.

Harry was about to extend his hand to it, but was stopped short by Hermione, who had her wand back out and levitated it carefully to Harry's left pocket and let it slip in. "I don't think we should touch it unless we have to."

Harry nodded in agreement, but was soon distracted as he noticed another interesting item.

Ron, following his glance, gasped. "A Pensieve!"

They carefully removed the Pensieve from the cupboard. Hermione shrank it to fit into her pocket and thoughtfully put an anti-spilling charm on it and had just stuffed it into her robe when Moody walked up to them.

"Found what you were looking for?"

They told him they had, so they marched back to the fireplace. This time they shouted "Weasleys Wizzarding Wheezes, Diagon Alley" before stepping into the green flames and vanishing.

They had a tight schedule to follow if they wanted to get everything done this day, so there wasn't time to snoop through the twin's shop, much to the displeasure of Ron, who had to be literally dragged outside by Hermione. Ginny and Harry snickered a bit about that, but were shortly back to honest when Hermione insisted that Quality Quiddich Supplies wasn't on today's list either.

So the group of four strode off towards Gringotts, followed by the watchful eye of Mad-Eye Moody. They all had the hoods of their cloaks on as they entered the wizard's bank. Harry noticed that there was a free counter and strode over.

"Hi, I'd like to visit my vault." He stated, taking his key from the pocket and showing it to the Goblin. It was hard to read an emotion from the face of a Goblin, but Harry thought he had seen a short surprised look cross it. After the next sentence, however, he was sure he saw one.

"Could I have Griphook take us there, please?"

The Goblin paused for an instant before getting himself together. "Of course, if you wish. If you will wait at the entrance, he will be with you in a minute."

Harry nodded a thanks and collected his friends. Only a few seconds later they were joined by a Goblin.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter. You have asked for me?"

Ron and Ginny both had questions written over their faces, only Hermione didn't seem surprised at all. "Yes, thank you that you could take your time, Griphook. May I introduce you to my friends, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley and Ronald Weasley."

The Goblin nodded is head, as did his three friends, and asked them to follow him to a waiting cart. Harry and Ginny climbed into the front row after Gryphook, while Ron and Hermione took the back seats. The cart started to speed down into the deep levels under the floor with a jolt and Hermione gave a surprised shout.

Harry greatly enjoyed the cart ride, as did Ginny to the look of it. Her face was flushed when the cart skidded to a halt, and looking at her, Harry felt a strong urge to snog her senseless. He was saved by Gryphook asking for his key, and after the Goblin had opened the vault for them they entered.

Harry had been a bit reluctant to take Ron with him, remembering the fighting over third year when Ron had been jelaous of Harry's fame and money. Money had always been a sensitive topic as far Ron was concerned. This time however he took it rather well.

"Merlin's beard!" Ron gasped after entering the vault and taking a look around. Ginny and Hermione seemed equally struck.

"Harry, that's..." his girlfriend didn't finish the sentence, noticing the sad look around his eyes.

"It's only money!" He stated, sounding sharper than he had planned to, so he continued. "There are a lot of things in my live that I'd trade for all this money without thinking twice, including each of you." And quieter, only to himself, he added, "there are even more things I've never had that I'd trade this all for."

Ginny had, unnoticed to him, stepped close to him and heared his sentence. Embracing him from behind she placed a quick kiss on his neck that made him shiver. "And that's why we love you, and that's also why you are the good guy and Voldemort can never beat you. You only care for the things that matter."

Ginny's assurance lightened his mood and brought him back to why they were here. So he strode over to a heap of assorted thing near the back of the vault and picked up four small leather bags, about a half foot long and a third wide. He was glad he had remembered having seen those on his first visit to the vault, when Hagrid had brought him to fetch some money for his school supplies. As a fallback plan he had brought some two pairs of socks with him, but he was relieved not having to use those. Yet the idea of using Dudley's old socks to transport wizard money seemed somehow intriguing.

He handed everyone a bag and told them to stuff it with galleons, as they might need quite some money in the next future. Hunting for the Horcruxes could mean a lot of travelling.

The girls immediately started to take galleons from the big heap in the middle of the room and put them into their bags, but Ron was still staring openmouthed at the bag in his hands.

"Ron, what is it?"

"Oy, Harry, do you know what those are?" Ron could hardly take his gaze away from the leather item in his hands.

"They're bags, I suppose?"

"Those are not just bags, mate, those are first quality Dragon hide bags, made from the skin of a Norvegian Ridgeback. They are almost undestroyable, and they must have cost a fortune!"

Harry was about to respond that that was cool, but they still needed to fetch some money, when he was interrupted by Hermione.

"Ehem, Harry?"

"Yes, what, Hermione?"

"There's still a bit more to those bags."

He looked at her questioningly. "Yes?"

Instead of answering, Hermione leaned over the bag and stuck her outstretched arm inside, until the bag hit her shoulder.

"They're charmed to be about six or seven times their size. Do you really want us to fill them?"

"Oh, that would be quite some Galleons. Just put as much in as you think would normally fit inside."

With that, he and Ron too started putting Galleons into their bags. When they were finished Harry pointed Hermione to a stack of books in the corner and asked her to look if there was something useful among them. Ginny joined her, and he used the short time to slip a small wooden jewellery box into his bag.

The girls had found a few books on ancient magic that they deemed interesting and put into their dragon hide bags. As the bags each had a leather string attached to both corners they decided to wear them around their necks, so they could be hidden under their cloaks.

Having finished their business they left the vault and enjoyed the cart ride back. After saying goodbye to Griphook the stepped out into the sunny morning at Diagon Alley. Hermione asked if they could fetch her writing supplies from Flourish and Blotts first when Ginny tugged at his robes, whispering "Harry!".

Turning his face to her, he saw her eyes grow big and, with a feeling like his guts where ripped apart, he saw a yellow lighning strike her stomach and she went sailing backwards through the air.

"Ginny!" a strangled cry escaped his mouth. He turned to where the lightning had come from. Seeing the familiar figures of four Death Eaters with their mask on and their wands aimed at his friends, his rage was infuriated. Before even thinking about what to do he had pointed his wand at the group and shouted "_Sectumsempra_!"

The four Death Eaters didn't even see it happen to them, as they were swept from their feet by the force of the spell. Harry didn't bother to look how badly he had injured them. Sprinting towards the lying body of Ginny he shouted at Ron and Hermione to apparate to the twin's shop.

He kneeled down beside the lifeless form of his girlfriend and grabbed her into his arms. He felt tears running down his face, and murmuring her name over and over again, he apparated them both into the back room of Fred and George's shop.


	11. Chapter 11 Course of Action

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

_A/N:_ Thanks to cmtaylor531 for your review. I hope to make it up this chapter. It doesn't have a lot of action, but I like it very much. Maybe a little fluffy to the end, but hey, I just needed that.

Have fun reading, and please, please review.

_Disclaimer_: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter 11 – Course of Action**

Arriving there, Ginny still motionless in his arms, he couldn't help but remember the last time he had had to apparate someone else. Last time it had been Dumbledore, after trying to get Slytherin's locket from the cave. That time, Dumbledore had been on the edge of death. It couldn't be...

He carried Ginny over to a chair and gently lay her down, oblivious to the questions from Ron and Hermione. Fred and George came in from the sales room, startled by the noise. All of them shouted questions at Harry, who was kneeling next to Ginny, holding her hand in his and asking her to stay with him. His red haired girlfriend just lay in the chair without breathing, and thinking desperately for what to do Harry pulled out his wand again and tried to enervate her, to no avail.

Hermione was the one to bring her senses together and grabbed for a hand full of floo powder. Throwing it into the fireplace she shouted "Hogwarts, office the Headmistress!". And when the flames started to burn green, she added "Mrs. McGonagall! Are you there?"

Instantly the head of the Headmistress appeared in the fireplace. "What is it, Ms. Granger?"

"We have been attacked by Death Eaters, and Ginny has been attacked with a spell. She doesn't breath. Please, can you bring Mrs. Pomfrey to the Weasleys shop?"

"We'll be right there!"

While Hermione talked to their former teacher Harry's desperation had grown, and he had gripped Ginny by her shoulders and was shouting at her.

"Don't you dare to leave me, Ginny! You know I can't live without you, you know I don't want to without you! You are everything to me, I need you!"

He was hardly knowing what he was doing, and with tear filled eyes he was shaking her now, as if trying to awaken her. Just when he thought the whole world was coming down onto him he heard Ginny make a loud swishing noise, as she sucked in a breath of air, followed by a painful growl.

"Ginny? Can you hear me?"

"arry?" Her voice came out nearly incomprehensible, and talking seemed to pain her.

"It's OK, Gin. Don't try to talk. Everything will be OK."

A wave of relieve washed over him, but at this moment he was pushed aside by the firm hands of Madam Pomfrey, the Hogwarts healer. Without hesitating she pulled her wand from her cloak and began pointing it up and down Ginnys body, examining her with the different coloured spells Harry knew well from his own visits to her infirmary.

Finally satisfied, she turned towards the friends. "She's got a very bad bruise around her solar plexus, and maybe a fractured rib or two, I'll have to look that over again, but apart from that she has no injuries, and no signs of a spell."

"But she'd stopped breathing!" Ron exclaimed.

"As you should know, Mr. Weasley, even though most wizard injuries are magical ones, we aren't safe from normal muggle traumas. As to why there are no traces of magic, I can't tell you."

"I think I can explain that one." Hermione said, leaning over the now sleeping Ginny and gently pulling the string attached to the dragon hide bag over her head, showing it to the teachers. In the middle it had a large, dark spot, looking like burn marks.

Madam Pomfrey and Mrs. McGonagall both gasped as they saw this. "This indeed explains why there are no signs of magic on her." The healer declared, wide eyed. "And to the looks of it, this bag has saved her live. It must have been quite a powerful spell to leave such marks on a dragons hide."

The tiny bit of colour that had come back to their faces was lost again after those words, and only now that they had calmed down a bit the reality of how close a call it had been settled in. The twins were both visibly shaking, and Ron was clinging to Hermione's hand so hard she grimaced. Harry wiped his eyes.

"I think we call off the other plans for today. Ginny needs to go to Hogwarts, and I'll not leave her alone. We can fetch anything that we need at Hogsmeade anytime. Ron, Hermione, can you take our things from the Ministry? My trunk's already packed, and I think Ginnys too."

"Course, mate." Ron said.

"Oh, and Ron?"

"What?"

"I hate to ask this from you, but your Mom will most probably want to know why you're fetching our things ahead of our schedule. I don't want her to worry too much..."

He couldn't finish that, as Ron cut in with a wave of his hand. "I'll handle that. Let me see – we were leaving Gringott's, when a number of Death Eaters appeared out of nothing. When you pushed Ginny down to stay out of sight, she hit her chest, and we all were able to apparate away safely. You know, I've been learning to work my way around her protectiveness for seventeen years now."

McGonagall was impressed how fast Harry and his friends had gotten a grip on the situation. They had grown a lot over the last year. Too fast, she told herself, a lot too fast. They shouldn't have to worry about the things they had to. But at the same time she had to think about the trust Dumbledore had always put in Harry's abilities, and in his friend's loyalty. Maybe he had been right, after all.

While Harry and Ron had been talking about that, Madam Pomfrey had given Ginny a vial of Restorative Potion as well as one against the pain. The twins had been out in the front and closed their shop to stop any unwanted visitors from entering.

They waved their goodbyes and Harry helped a still awkward Ginny up from her chair and gently led her to the fireplace. Shouting "Hogwarts, Hospital Wing!" he took her around the waist, careful not grip too hard, and together they vanished in the green flames, followed shorty by the two teachers.

He quickly brought her to a bed and Madam Pomfrey started with her routine, shooing both Harry and the Headmistress from the room. They both sat down on one of the benches outside the entrance, knowing the futility of any attempt to stay. Harry buried his face in his hands and only sat there, his elbowed resting on his knees. He felt the pounding of his heart, as if he had just run ten miles, and tears were wetting his face.

He only noticed he had started sobbing when a soft hand began stroking his back, and his Professor's voice, much less sharp as it usually was, reminded him that everything would be alright.

"You and Ginny have grown very close."

He wasn't sure if Professor McGonagall asked him, or was just merely stating the obvious.

"Yes," somehow being reminded of his feelings for Ginny drove away parts of the emptiness and fear he just felt, "we have."

"You know, Harry, sometimes talking about feelings helps soothing one's pain."

He took a few calming breaths before he could be sure his voice would hold. "It was horrible. One minute we were all having a good time together, and the next there were those Death Eaters, and before I could have reacted one had shot a spell at Ginny. When I saw her fall, I thought my heart was ripped apart. And when we got to the shop and she wasn't breathing, it was," he had to pause, trying not to get overwhelmed again. "It was as if every feeling, good or bad, was ripped away from me. I thought I must die that instant, because I didn't think I could bear it. I wouldn't wish that feeling to my worst enemy."

He was again sobbing now, but somehow it didn't matter to him that his teacher was present, and she didn't mind either. "You must know, Harry, that I understand how you feel. I lost my husband in the first war, and I had feelings very similar to those you described."

At that Harry looked up with big eyes, as he had never before heard anything about McGonagall's private live from her before.

The Professor seemed to read his mind, as she chuckled a little before going on. "Yes, I do have a live outside of Hogwarts. Or at least," she gave a small sigh, "I did have until recently. But that is a different story. What I want to make clear is, don't dwell on the ifs and whens now. Everything worked out right, so value what you have. I believe Ms. Weasley could do with a little cheer up from you when Madam Pomfrey is finished."

Harry smiled at her. She was right, it was no use to let himself be brought down by recent events, it would exactly be what Voldemort had intended.

"Thank you, Professor."

They had to wait a little longer and spent their time talking about the Quidditch House cup, and about possible strategies for the next years. And though Harry wasn't sure if he would be part of next year's team, it did keep him from brooding. Finally Madam Pomfrey opened the door and allowed them to enter again, but McGonagall gestured him to go on and stayed behind to discuss something with the header.

He practically ran over to her bed, shouting "Gin! Don't ever, ever do that to me again!" And reaching her side, he grabbed for her hand. "Are you OK?"

She smiled back at him, her face still a little shaken, but with some colour back on her cheeks she definitely looked healthier than ten minutes ago. "I don't think saying »I'm fine« will do, I think that one has been misused too much by someone we both know very well."

Harry had to chuckle. His friends had teased him a lot about this phrase, Ron had even predicted that if Harry would ever be swallowed by dragon, they would most certainly be able to hear a muffled »I'm fine« coming from its inside weeks later.

"Let me show you how I am." Ginny pulled on his hand until his face was inches from hers. Seeing the loving look in her eyes, he couldn't think anymore, and soon both were totally lost in a passionate kiss. No Harry's heart was beating with an intense joy that washed all through his body. After a minute they broke apart breathlessly.

"Believe me now that I'm fine?" Ginny asked, her eyes smiling.

"Ah," he answered mockingly, "I notice you are a bit short of breath. I believe I'll have to do regular check-ups on your health, just to be sure."

"If you insist, Doctor Potter." Ginny nicked back.

From the corner of his eyes Harry noticed a movement. Turning his head he saw the two Professors standing in the middle of the room, both wearing what could only be described as a dreamy smile across their faces. Not knowing how much they had seen or heard he blushed profusely, and Ginny, noticing the two figures too, did the same.

After some discussion and Ginny promising to avoid any physical effort for the next twelve hours she was allowed to leave the Hospital Wing. Before they left Harry asked McGonagall and Pomfrey to keep silent about the real events of today, especially regarding Mrs. Weasley, and both agreed to do their best without actually lying to anyone.

Harry and Ginny both noticed that they were rather hungry after everything. Professor McGonagall told them that normally over the holidays lunch was served directly to the teachers quarters, but they would be welcome to dine in her office, so they would be present when Ron and Hermione arrived.

Soon they marched past the Gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmistress' office and ascended the moving stairs. Sitting down on two chairs quickly conjured by Professor McGonagall they sat down. It was a good thing they were sitting, as the moment the Professor had expressed her wish to have a meal they were faced with an excited House Elve who bounced up and down and jumped all around them.

"Master Harry Potter Sir has come to visit Hogwarts over the holidays, and he has brought his Miss Weezy! I is so honored to serve Lunch to great Harry Potter and his friend!"

It took a good five minutes until the small Elve had calmed down enough so they could place their orders, and Professor McGonagall, who hadn't seen Dobby around Harry very often, couldn't stop chuckling at the amount of hero worship the little creature showed towards her student, and the embarassement obvious on Harry's face.

Only seconds after Dobby had disappeared to get their food he was back with a large tray loaded with everything the kitchen had to offer. Thanking the Elve they filled their plates and tucked in.

They decided to leave discussing the matters at hand until the others arrived and had some relaxed smalltalk over lunch.

Just when they were finished and Dobby had carried away the dishes and leftovers a charring noise could be heard coming from the fireplace, followed by a female voice shouting "GINNEVRA WEASLEY!"

Mrs. Weasley came rushing out of the fireplace, a determined look on her face, but was instantly intercepted by the Headmistress. "Molly, how nice you are coming for a visit, I didn't expect you. Come take a seat and have a cup of pumpkin juice with us."

That took most of the force from Mrs. Weasley's rush, and she somewhat reluctantly took a seat in a freshly conjured chair. "Ginny, dear, are you allright?"

"Of course, Mom. Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?" She seemed to build up steam again. "With Ron and Hermione coming home without you two and telling some wild story about a Death Eater attack and you hurt, you tell me not to worry?"

Ginny squirmed under her mother's gaze, but Harry quickly answered for her. "Please don't worry anymore, Mrs. Weasley," and reminding himself of their last conversation he added, "Molly. Everything happened so fast, and when I saw Ginny fall over I thought she had been hit with a spell. But she wasn't, and apart from hurting her chest a little everything is fine."

"Is that true, Minerva?"

"That is what everyone told me, and Madam Pomfrey couldn't find any trace of a spell on Ginny."

"Thank god. I was so scared."

Luckily, at this time Ron and Hermione appeared in the fireplace, carrying a number of shrunken trunks in their hands.

"Oi, Ginny, you allright?" Ron inquired.

"Everything OK, Ron."

Mrs. Weasley offered her chair to Hermione, saying she had to visit Fleur's parents on some wedding stuff, and after telling them all to behave and do anything silly, and giving each of the students a bonecrushing hug, she flooed away.

Just as Professor McGonagall was about to rise her wand to conjure another chair for Ron, Hermione had hers out and with a small swishing movement a heavy, plushy chair was standing there. The Headmistress was impressed.

"Fine work, Ms. Granger. But I don't think you covered wordless conjuring in Transfiguration class yet, I should know that."

Hermione was beaming. "I've decided to read ahead a little. The wordless conjuring seemed rather easy to do, as long as inanimate objects were to be created. I noticed that sometimes I'm too focused on getting the incantation right, whereas with the wordless ones I can focus completely on the image and the wand movement."

Hermione and the Professor talked for a little about wordless magic and its pros and cons. Harry had taken Ginny's hand in his and was stroking it gently with his thumb, halfheartedly listening to the conversation. Ron was watching Hermione with a mix of admiration and awe in his eyes.

Harry chuckled silently. Ron and Hermione had been around each other for six years now, but still they were surprised by each other with every new day.

But soon they were all brought back to more important topics.

"You four are certainly aware that over the summer holidays most of the teachers are away. So we don't have meals at the Great Hall. I've thought about giving you two of the spare flats in the teacher's area, but I'm not sure if everyone of them would agree with that."

"Professor," Harry had thought about that himself, "if we could just stay in Gryffindor Tower that would be fine. Ginny and Hermione can share a dorm there, and we are all familiar with the place."

"Ah well, then that's settled."

"I would like to ask a few more favours from you, if it would be possible?"

"Just ask, Harry."

"First, we need all the information we can get to find and destroy the Horcruxes. So being able to get books from the restricted section of the library and from yours would be of great help. Second, if you could re-attach the fireplace in Gryffindor Common Room to the Floo Network, only for calls, that would be great. And the last thing is, maybe you could ask some members of the Order if they would agree to teach us in dueling and defense."

"I have to admit," the Headmistress looked Harry directly into the eyes, "I'm impressed that you seem to have your course of action already layed out. And seeing that you are not waisting your time, I won't waist yours. So the answers are yes, yes and yes. I'll see that Ms. Granger and Ms. Weasley have free access to all the books at Hogwarts starting this evening. I'll have Professor Flitwick re-attach the fireplace this afternoon, and either Professor Moody or Professor Lupin will contact you on your training in the next few days."

"Thank you, Mrs. McGonagall."

"You're welcome. Now stow your things away and try to enjoy the rest of the day."

Carrying their still shrunken trunks, they marched over to Gryffindor Tower through the deserted floors, talking about what to do with the rest of the day. Hermione proposed starting right out with more researching, but after being reminded that they didn't have access to the libraries yet she agreed to have a leasury afternoon. Ron proposed a game of chess, but neither Harry nor Ginny were willing to get beaten.

When Hermione stated that the weather was too nice to stay inside, Harry had to nudge Ron into the ribs until he got the message and asked her to go for a walk around the lake. Finally reaching the entrance to the Common Room, they had to shout until the Fat Lady in the portrait woke up.

"My, what are you doing here? School hasn't started yet!" She exclaimed, obviously a little annoyed about having her holidays interrupted.

"We're sorry to have to disturb you," Hermione answered for them, "but we will be staying here over the holidays. Now if you could please let us in, the password is _Mimbulus Mimbletonia_."

Ron and Harry took their six yearth dorm room again, and Ginny stuffed her things in Hermione's dorm. After everything was where it belonged Ron and Hermione strolled off through the Portrait, leaving Harry and Ginny completely alone for the first time in what seemed an eternity to them.

Smiling lascively, Ginny put her arms around Harry's neck and softly rubbed her body against his. "So what are we going to do now, Doctor Potter?"

"Ah," he smiled, "we definitely will have to do another check-up. And I happen to know the exactly fitting spot for that."

Taking Ginny by the hand he led her out of the Common Room and through the corridors. When they reached a dark, old staircase, she recognized where they were going.

"Are you sure you want to go there? It's still daytime."

"And who should come up there and see us with most of the teachers away? Do you expect anyone on a broom?"

She smiled at him in a very wicked way, and he felt his knees get weak, but a second later she had started up the stairs, shouting "OK, then race me!" over her shoulders. They sprinted up the long stairway, and he had nearly reached her when she had pushed open the door to the platform on the Astronomy Tower.

Jumping out into the open sun he had to cover his eyes. Giving the door a little kick so it swung close, and adding a _Colloportus_ charm to keep anyone from disturbing them, he turned towards Ginny. Instantly he pushed to the ground when she flung herself at him, and he thanked Merlin that he had gotten quite adept in quick cusioning charms with all the DA training.

They were both breathless from running up the stairs, and pulling Ginny's face close to him he stuttered. "I think," taking in air, "this will need," he felt Ginny's hand touch him on very sensible spot just over his left hip and gasped, "a very close examination!"

For the next twenty or so minutes they, and Harry couldn't find a better description for it, snogged each other senseless. He couldn't get enough of the feeling of soft, demanding lips on his. He felt so incredibly close to Ginny, and he felt unable to express how perfect she seemed to him. It was amazing, every little touch of their tounges, every small brushing of skin against skin sending shivers all through his body.

He was just exploring the different ways of nipping on Ginny's earlobes when he felt her fingers nestling with the top buttons of his robes. "Ginny?"

"Shhh! It's too hot for robes, don't you think?"

He couldn't answer, as Ginny had sealed his mouth with hers. Soon she had opened all of the buttons and the robes fell loosely to the side, and with a short motion she had slipped hers over her head, leaving them both just in jeans and t-shirts.

But Ginny didn't stop. When her fingers pulled the hem of his t-shirt up and her bare hands began caressing his stomach and his sides, Harry was unable to think of stopping her. Soon he was stripped out of it and felt the fresh sommer air on his skin, together with soft hands that trailed all over him.

"Ginny?" He asked, a little hoarsely.

"Don't panik," she answered softly, yet smiling a little mischeavously . "I don't think we should go too far too soon. But there's one thing I always wanted to know."

"And that is?"

But instead of answering she lowered her had a little, and a moment later Harry felt an incredibly erotic tingling as a soft, warm tongue trailed around his right nipple, followed by a hot feeling of want that shot through him when she began sucking and nipping delicately. Unvoluntarily he arched his back and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Gin, you're driving me inside with that."

"How is that?" she requested, letting her mouth slip away from his body just for this question.

"This feels like hahhh," he gasped as she bit down teasingly on the tip of his nipple, "like heaven when you do that, but at the same thhiihhh," again he couldn't suppress it, "like hell, because it makes me want to do so much more with you."

She lifted her head to look him in the eyes, stroking his chest softly with her hand.

"And would that be so bad, to do more?"

"Gin," his voice became honest, yet soft, "I think we are both not ready yet. I want to take it slow, make sure we do everything right."

Ginny nodded, but averted her eyes, and Harry could feel a bit of disappointment coming from her. He gently lifted her chin so that their eyes met again.

"Gin, I love you, more than anything else in the world. I would like to do more, and it's almost physically hurting sometimes, but I want to make sure I don't hurt you. Let's just not rush it. I love you too much."

This seemed to soften her mood. "I love you too, Harry, more than I could say. You're right about it."

She snuggled up in his armpit, her head resting on his shoulder. And lying there, simply enjoying the closeness of each other, they soon fell asleep in the warm July sun on top of Astronomy Tower.


	12. Chapter 12 Goodbye

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

Hi erveryone, and many many thanks for your reviews. Morriganscrow has given me a friendly slap on the back of my head for being sloppy with spellchecking and proofreading, so I've worked over this chapter a few times. I've also started to translate the whole story into German, which helps me discover more mistakes in the English version, so I will be replacing the earlier chapters with corrected ones over time.

Big thanks also to animefreak85, cmtaylor531 and IrishEyesAreSmiling. Your positive reviews make it a lot easier for me to go on with the story.

Chantelle: I'm happy you like the story. But I have to disappoint you. I believe the fifth soul is someone else. After all, it's the one unthought of ;) It will be quite some chapters until his/her identity is confirmed, but it seems this will give not only our four heroes a bit of a headache smiles.

Greetings also to everyone else who read and enjoyed this story. Maybe you find time after this chapter to leave a little comment.

Have fun!

_Disclaimer_: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter 12 - Goodbye**

Harry awoke to the stirring of Ginny on his chest, and sleepily he blinked in the bright sunlight. He felt peaceful and rested like he hadn't in ages. Remembering how they had fallen asleep, a big smile spread across his face. He stroked her cheek gently with his thumb. "Hi there, beautiful. Slept well, Gin?"

Ginny yawned. "Never better. I could just stay like that forever."

"Mhmmm." He murmured, agreeing with her.

"How long have we been sleeping?"

"Don't know, but guessing by looking at the sun, maybe two or three hours." He was once again aware that he didn't have a watch. He should really go and buy one.

"Think Ron and Hermione have finished snogging their way around the lake?" They both giggled.

Deciding they should go back and look for their friends before Ron came running up there, Harry fixed his clothes, and holding each others hand they went back to Gryffindor Tower.

Hermione and Ron were already there. Hermione was writing a letter, and Ron had himself propped lazily over a chair with a copy of '_Quidditch for the Millennium_' on his lap, and was sound asleep.

Hermione gave them a funny look, then pointed her eyes at Ron and rolled them around. Ginny held a finger over her mouth to silence them and, with a mischievous grin, crept silently up to Ron. When she was no more than a foot away she yelled "Dinner is ready!"

In the blink of an eye Ron had jumped to his feet, sending the book to the floor with a loud thud. "Thank Merlin, I'm..." Taking a look around and seeing the amused faces of his friends, he fell back onto the chair with a sigh and a scowl. "Don't ever do this to me again!"

The three of them laughed aloud. If one thing could get Ron on his toes, it was the possibility of getting something to eat. Finally, he also managed a smile.

They chattered a little about what they would do next, and after Hermione and Ginny proclaimed that they had to do some girl's talk, Ron and Harry opted for visiting Hagrid. Ron was curious if his hut, which had been burnt down at the battle, had already been rebuilt.

So the girls stayed behind at the Common Room, while the two boys strolled over the grounds to Hagrid's hut. Harry hadn't thought about it, but halfway they passed by the white chapel where Dumbledore had been laid to rest. Harry stood before the entrance, unsure if he should go on.

Ron put a hand on his shoulder. "Just go in, mate. I'll be down at Hagrid's hut."

With that, he walked on, leaving Harry there with a big lump in his throat. Slowly, he entered the white marble chapel. He had to admit, it was beautiful. Minimalistic, but still somehow impressing. On a big, black, square piece of marble in the middle of the wall was a writing in golden letters:

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

_born 1840_

_died 1997_

_Grand Sorcerer_

_Order of Merlin (First Class)_

_Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot_

_Supreme Mugwump_

_Member of the International Confederation of Wizards_

_Headmaster of Hogwarts 1946 – 1997_

_May his soul fly with the Phoenixes_

_into the next big adventure._

Harry blinked away a tear that was sitting in the corner of his eye. The funeral had gone by in somewhat of a blur for him, and he hadn't really paid attention to his surroundings then. It was appropriate, he thought, the white stone shining in the sunlight, just like Dumbledore had always in a metphorical way as a defender of the light side. And the interior fit as well, simple, but beautiful. Next to the golden letters an image of a Phoenix was engraved, his wings spread as if in flight, and his neck stretched so that his eyes were looking at the sky.

Harry's hand traced the outlines of the magical bird. "I hope you did really make it to the next big adventure. I miss you, Professor. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything about it."

Just when he had said "I'm sorry" a faint glow flickered over the image of the Phoenix, and an envelope tumbled to the ground in front of it. Harry was startled, but he bent down and picked it up. It was made of the typical Hogwarts parchment, with Dumbledore's seal on the back. On the front, written in neat letters, was Harry's name.

He gulped a few times and tore it open. After reading a few lines, he had to sit down on the stone floor.

_Dear Harry,_

_if you are reading this letter, you have obviously come back to Hogwarts to complete what we have started. It is the right decision you made. Fawkes has followed my wish and brought this letter, together with the charm to activate it, to my tomb. I have all the faith in you a wizard of my age can bring up, and that is a lot. I hope you have brought your friends with you, all three of them. You will have to rely on them, but be assured, you could have no better allies in your fight._

_Speaking of allies. As this letter has been opened by you, this means that I'm dead now. Most probably it has been Severus who has put an end to my current form of existence. Don't blame him, no matter how things look, as I have insisted that when worst came to worst, he must do it, and in a way Tom will believe his motives. He is still on our, now your, side. The powers from Marvolo's ring have weakened me to a point I don't think I will recover, and if what I expected to be in the cave under the sea was there, I couldn't have had any hope of surviving._

_I know it will be hard, but you have to trust him. No one else has as much insight into Tom's plans as he has. You can contact him by leaving a letter under the loose floorboard next to the entrance of the Shrieking Shack._

_You are surely looking for the remaining two Horcruxes. As it would have been too much of a risk to leave my findings in my office, I had to put them in a place where only you were able to retrieve it. I hope that not too much time has passed, but knowing you I don't think it did. I am certain now that Helga Hufflepuff's Cup was made a Horcrux, and a friend of mine has just recently found its trail. Tell Ms. Granger that you have to visit Tenzin Gyatso, she will know how to find him. And bring him my very best greetings. He has always been a big source of inspiration._

_The other one, seeing that Tom could not get his hands on Gryffindor's Sword, must be Rovenna Ravenclaw's dagger. I am not completely certain there, but I may be hidden somewhere in a very prominent location. Tom has always admired Grindelwald's reign of war, and maybe tracking his footsteps will also lead you to the dagger's location._

_I am sorry that I can not offer you any advice on how to destroy the Horcruxes. Each of them is a unique piece of Magic that has to be carefully analyzed, and only then one can find the correct means to destroy it. But your friends will certainly help you to come up with ideas, and I am sure you can think of a very experienced course breaker who would love to assist you there._

_I wish you well on your journey, Harry, and it has been an honour to walk along with you part of your way. You can do great things, and I do believe you will. With you here as a leader for the side of the light, an old man can lay himself to rest without worrying._

_Have faith and trust_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Harry sat for some minutes, contemplating what he had just read. The letter brought them closer to their first aim of destroying all of the Horcruxes, and he couldn't help himself, for the first time he did indeed feel faithful. With a wet-eyed smile he got up and put his flat hand against the cool marble stone of the wall.

"Goodbye, Professor. I hope that I won't let you down. I'll do my best. Thank you, for everything."

A boy with stirred up emotions nocked on the door of Hagrid's hut, which looked almost the same as it had before the events of the end of the year. A few spots of charred grass were the only reminders of what had happened.

The similing face of the Half Giant opened the door, and instantly Harry was lying with his back on the floor, the slippery tongue of Hagrid's dog leaving its trail on his face.

"Oh gerroff, Fang!" Hagrid thundered, and the animal reluctantly let go of Harry. "Good ta see yeh, Harry. The Headmistress tol' me you'd be stayin' here, so I made some cakes. Din't expect yeh so soon, though."

"Hi Hagrid, good to see you, too. How are you doing?"

"Oh, fine, li'le Harry, but it ain't the same with him gone."

He could hear the sadness in Hagrids voice, and not wanting to get him into one of his crying fits, which always ended in Harry nearly being crushed to death in a hug from the Half Giant, he asked for a cup of tea. While Hagrid fetched a cup from the board he sat on the bench next to Ron.

"You OK, mate?" The redhead wanted to know.

"Yeah, Dumbledore wrote me a letter, I'll show all of you when we are back."

"He wrote you..."

"Shhhh!" He didn't want to mention Dumbledore to Hagrid just now. So they talked for a while about the animals in the Forbidden Forest, how his Giant half brother Grawp was doing, and which dangerous creatures Hagrid was planning to show to his pupils over the next year. Both Ron and Harry managed to slip Fang a good amount of the unbreakable rock cakes, without the Half Giant noticing it.

An hour later they left, not before promising to visit every now and then, and to bring the two girls with them the next time. They marched silently up to the castle and through the corridors, each in his own thoughts.

Ginny and Hermione were still in the Common Room, and after giving a short explanation of their visit to Hagrid, Harry silently fished Dumbledore's letter from his pocket and handed it to them.

He watched the expressions on their faces, first sadness, which when they came to the part about Snape changed to utter disbelieve, then to excitement over the whereabouts of the remaining Horcruxes, and finally to some mixture of grief and hope. Exactly the same emotions he had gone through reading the letter himself.

As usually, Ginny was the first one to recover from the news. Looking into Harry's eyes without blinking, she said: "I guess now things will be starting to get rough?"

"Yeahea, I guess so. Hermione, have you got any clue who this Tenzing is?"

Hermione already had an excited look in her eyes and had a hard time to sit still. "Of course I know who he is. Don't tell me you never heard of the Dalai Lama?"

Ron started at her wide eyed. "We have to talk to a lama?"

Hermione rolled her eyes while Ginny just shot them questioning looks, but Harry, having heard the name a few times in the Muggle news, recognized it and laughed, imagining Ron trying to talk to one of the spitting animals.

With an exasperated sigh Hermione explained. "No, we don't have to talk with an animal. It's his name, or rather his title. The Dalai Lama is the leader of the Tibetian buddhists, one of the highest authorities in the buddhistic world, just like the Pope is for the catholics. He's very famous throughout the world." From there on she went on a lengthy explanation of the root of the buddhist religion and the history of the acquisition of Tibet by China.

Soon all of them only listened halfheartedly. Harry thought about their next steps. If everything went smooth, they could be able to retrieve the last two missing Horcruxes before Bill and Fleur's wedding. That was more than he had hoped for. Then a thought occurred to him.

"Hermione, the other day you said you had figured out the runes on the Soul Stones?"

Like he had pulled a switched the room fell silent, and all eyes focused on a smiling Hermione. "Yes, I could figure out what the runes on the stones are. One means soul or determination, one means wind or force, the third one is spirit or thoughtfulness, and the last one means life. But I'm not a hundred percent sure to whom which stone belongs."

"The last two are easy." Ron claimed. "The spirit one can only be Hermione's, if anyone is good at thinking, then she is." At that she beamed at Ron, who seemed himself pleased with having made it sound like the compliment it was. "And the life stone must be Harry's, with all the deadly situations he has survived ."

Everyone agreed on that, so the two choices left were the soul and the wind stone. They had a lengthy discussion, but they didn't come to a conclusion. Determination and force were both typical Weasley traits and could apply to Ginny as well as Ron. So they decided to sleep over it and got back to the more urgent topics. Hermione and Ginny volunteered to write a letter to the Dalai Lama to ask for a meeting with him. Harry wanted to send Hedwig with the letter, but Hermione insisted in using an eagle owl from the Hogsmeade post station, which would only need half the time to get to Tibet, which would still be more than two days.

Then came the topic each of them had wanted to avoid. Ginny was the first to ask about it. "What do we do about Snape?"

"You seriously consider we should trust him? The first time we did, Sirius was killed, and the second time it cost Dumbledore's life!" Ron almost shouted, and crossing his arms he sat back, making clear his own position in this matter.

Harry could see the inner fight going on in Hermione's head. She didn't like the greasy Potions master any more than the others did, but reason told her that his knowledge would be invaluable.

"We have no choice." Harry stated, wrestling down the anger that still welled up at the mention of Snape. "Dumbledore trusted him, and even if I can't understand why he would let Snape kill him, it was what he had wanted. After all that has happened, he will certainly be Voldemort's most trusted follower. He should know almost everything that he's planning."

"You really think you'll contact him?" Ron asked wide-eyed. "You could just send him your head on a plate."

Now Ginny interfered. "Harry has a point. And Snape could have killed him easily after he had finished off Dumbledore. You said so yourself, Harry. But we shouldn't trust him blindly, there must be some way to proof his loyalty."

"And how do you want to do that?" Ron smirked. "He's one of the best Occlumens ever, he could fool even Voldemort."

Harry had an idea. "Hermione, how long does it take to brew Veritaserum?"

"You can't be serious!" Hermione jumped up. "Veritaserum is strictly regulated by the Ministry. You can't just go and brew some yourself!"

Now Harry couldn't keep from chuckling. "And who would stop us doing so?"

Hermione looked a little embarrassed. Relying on rules and authorities too much had always been her weak spot, and they boys had more than once rubbed it in. "If we can get some pre-made moon elixier, it should be finished in three days."

"So we'll have to ask Professor McGonagall for access to the Potions Lab. I think we should do that this evening, so we can see if we need to order anything."

Having settled this, they decided it was time for dinner, which was served by a still excited Dobby. The small elf bowed at least five times to each of the four, and seemd truly happy when everyone praised his cooking. After everyone had finished, or rather after everyone had waited for Ron to finish, they left to visit the Headmistress.


	13. Chapter 13 Getting into Pace

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

Best greetings to all of you! Thanks to Chantelle, animefreak85, cmtaylor531 and pele1 for your reviews. Glad i could raise your curiousity. I've made an extra effort to get this chapter out as fast as possible, so Chantelle doesn't have to punch her classmate too hard :)

Hope you like this one also, it's again a slower one, but action is already on the doorstep. So have fun, and review!

_Disclaimer_: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter 13 – Getting into Pace**

While they went to talk to Professor McGonagall, Harry got aware of the nagging feeling that he had missed something, but he couldn't quite get his hands on it. He tried hard to rethink the whole conversation from the Common Room, but still couldn't tell what it was. Ginny walked next to him, and when they had almost reached the stone Gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the revolving staircase, she nudged him in the side.

"What is it, Harry? You've grown too silent. Something is on your mind."

Hermione was reciting all the ingredients and circumstances needed for successfully brewing Veritaserum to Ron, and the two of them didn't even notice that the other two had stopped walking.

"I don't know, honestly. I'm sure I've missed something important when we were talking, but I don't know what." Harry looked into her eyes. He found her eyes searching his, until she nodded understandingly, and he felt a little stab in his chest. He had kept things from his friends too often, and the trust they had in his openness was still standing on wobbly feet.

"Gin, look at me."

She lifted her eyes again, curious what it was.

"I know I've always been keeping a lot of things to myself over the last years. But I promise you, I won't do it again. I've learned this lesson the hard way, with Dumbledore always keeping important things secret from me, and I don't want to do this to anyone else anymore. Most of all, not you."

"Oh Harry." Ginny was at a loss for words, and she quickly forced a big smile on her lips, hitting him playfully on his arm, before he could see the mist in her eyes. "Are you telling me you're growing up?" She teased him, and he responded, half happy, half sad, "Couldn't stop it, I've tried my best."

"Oy, mate, you coming?" Called Ron's voice from down the corridor, breaking the intimate moment.

He grabbed Ginny's hand, and they quickly strolled down to the waiting couple.

"What took you so long?" Ron instisted to know.

"Just a bit of fluff talk, you know." Answered Ginny.

"Ah, stop it, I don't want to hear it." Ron pressed his hand to his ears, and all four of them had a good laugh.

Just when Harry was about to say the password to the stone Gargoyle, it sprang aside to let them enter the staircase. They travelled up the stairs and nocked on the door to the head's office. Instantly they were asked to enter.

Professor McGonagall was sitting behind the large wooden desk, sheets of parchment covering almost every inch of its surface, and sighing deeply as she put away her quill.

"I've been working on this paperwork for days, and still I'm nearly halfway through. I wonder how Albus managed it all. But what can I do for you?"

"We wondered, Professor," Harry began, coming direktly to the point, "if we could make use of the Potions laboratory."

The Professor raised an eyebrow. "We have almost any potion in stock that would be needed. Just ask Madam Pomfrey, she also has the keys to the store rooms in the dungeons now."

Harry felt a bit uneasy, but Ginny nudged him from behind and whispered into his ear. "Remeber, no secrets." So he braced himself a bit.

"I don't think the one we need will be in stock, Professor, as Veritaserum is strongly regulated."

Now McGonagall seemed to almost pale a bit. "What would you need Veritaserum for? This is a highly dangerous potion, and even if it wasn't, it is even harder to make!"

Harry said nothing, but pulled Dumbledore's letter from his pocket and handed it to the Headmistress. With a short, inquiring glance into his eyes she took it.

Reading through it, she paled noticingly. She read it a second time, and finally let out a loud breath. "Where did you find this letter, Harry?"

"Fawkes hid it in Dumbledore's tomb."

She nodded. "And now you want to administer the Veritaserum to Severus?"

"We have no choice." Hermione answered for them. "There's even a chance that the letter is a fake, and after all that has happened..."

"I see." Professor McGonagall rubbed her nose. "But do you really think you are up to making this complicated potion? Maybe we should asked someone who is more proficient with it."

"Professor," Ron exclaimed, "Hermione has successfully brewed Polyjuice Potion when we were in our second year. And both she and Harry are very good at it, just look at their marks."

Sighing again, she gave all four of them a resigned look, and pulled open the bottom drawer from the desk. She fished a big key out of it and handed it to Hermione. "Please be responsible with it. I trust you that you keep me informed about anything you are doing down there."

"Of course, Professor!" Hermione answered, and all four of them nodded assuringly.

The were about to leave, when Hermione turned back. "Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"I've just thought – will you stay Headmistress?"

The Professor looked at her a little surprised. "Yes, in fact that's what all this paperwork is about. I daresay that others aren't to keen on this post nowadays. The Board of Governors have voted the day after you left."

"And you're going to re-open Hogwarts, aren't you?"

Now a little smile played over McGonagall's lips. "Again, yes, Miss Granger. I must confess, I'm still not completely at ease with this decision, but the other Professors are certain about that, and I have already received a number of letters from parents asking me to. So yes, Hogwarts will open again in September."

It was a sign for the pressure they all felt that even Ron didn't tease Hermione about her concerns. Normally, he would have given her quite a hard time, Harry surmised, but now everyone, including Ron, would have been grateful for the normalcy of a regular school year.

They waved their goodbyes, and walking down the stairs they began to discuss the Veritaserum.

"We need to work in shifts." Hermione told them. "It has too be stirred every three hours, until it's finished."

A thought occurred to Harry, and with a little smile he asked. "Would you mind doing some more potions work, Hermione?"

The other three looked at him questioningly.

"I think making a good stock of Wulfsbane Potion wouldn't be bad, either."

Hermione looked eager to jump to the challenge, but then her face darkened. "I'm sorry, but you can't just stock it up. Wulfsbane has to be fresh, as it can only be kept for the time it's still simmering, after the brewing has... Oh!"

She had stopped walking halfway down the corridor, and her face was radiating with excitement. "Why hasn't anyone thought of that? That's so simple!"

"What?" Ron wanted to know. "I hate it, when she does that! I always feel like I have a brick wall around my brain."

Ginny chuckled. "C'mon, Ron, compared to Hermione, you rather have a brick stone for a brain."

"Don't you see?" Hermione didn't even notice the conversation going on around, and the loud scowl Ron sent Ginny was totally lost on her. "If we could just charm a vial to keep the Wulfsbane at the same heat that it has at the end of the brewing process, it could be kept forever!"

At last everyone understood what she was saying. "Are you sure?" Harry asked. "Then Snape wouldn't have had to brew it anew every four weeks?"

"No, but maybe he didn't want to become redundant. And this way he could give Lupin a bad conscience every four weeks, that would be just like him."

They walked down to the dungeons and gave the Potions Lab a quick look over. They were lucky that all the ingredients were in stock, for the Veritaserum as well as the Wulfsbane. Hermione was eager to start instantly, but thinking a little, she declared that it would be better if they started in the morning. This way, the most complicated steps would have to be done in the late evenings, when it wouldn't interfere with anything happening over the day.

So before heading back to Gryffindor Tower they simply prepared the cauldrons and put the necessary ingredients together.

Back at the Common Room they started writing the letter to the Dalai Lama. In fact, Hermione did all the writing herself, while the others discussed what to put on the parchment. The most difficult part, it turned out, was the question how to address him. Ron had suggested 'Dear Lama', and under the angry stare of Hermione, broken down in a fit of laughter.

Finally the letter was finished, and everyone was pleased with it.

_Dear Dalai Lama,_

_we are sending you this letter on the request of our former Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. We are sorry to bring you the sad news of his death, if it hasn't reached you yet. He has died fighting three weeks ago. He has informed us in a letter that you were able to find something on his behalf, and we would be happy if we could meet you to discuss this item. Professor Dumbledore also asked us to bring his greetings, and to tell you that you have always been a big source of inspiration._

_Yours sincerely_

_Harry Potter_

_Hermione Granger_

_Ginny Weasley_

_Ronald Weasley_

The harder task was to write the note to Snape. There were still the questions of when and were to meet him. Harry would have preferred a public place, but it wouldn't be possible to administer the Veritaserum there. They also considered renting a room in the Three Broomsticks, but seeing how easy it had been for the Death Eaters to slip in unnoticed and get Madame Rosmerta under the Imperious Course, this didn't stand to reason either.

It was Ginny who had the idea to meet him in the twins' shop. They could floo there from McGonagall's office, and in case anything went wrong they had only one entrance to defend. Of course, they would have to talk to the twins first, but Harry didn't worry that they might decline the favour.

So he finished the note, saying nothing more than:

_We have to talk. We know things aren't always what they seem. At the twins', Friday, 9 pm._

Deciding to talk to the twins first thing in the morning through the fireplace in the head's office, before going down to Hogsmeade to send the letter, all four of them suddenly felt the exhaustion of the long day. Ron didn't even suggest the usual round of chess, and after giving Ginny a goodnight kiss, Harry stepped tiredly up the stairs to their dorm.

Tucking the blanket over himself, he didn't even bother to take off his glasses or shut his curtains before he fell asleep.


	14. Chapter 14 Fame and Fighting

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

Best greetings to all that have reviewed so far. I love you all! You're really encouraging me, and therefore it made me a bit sad I wasn't able to find very much time for writing over the last weeks. I've been buried in work over my head, and it doesn't look as if it will get better until the end of next month. So please be patient with me.

There it goes, this time with a little action (as promised). And to make up for the long waiting this chapter is a bit on the longer side.

Have fun, and please review!

_Disclaimer_: This is just a desperate attempt of one Potter-crazy to fill up the time waiting for book 7 to come out. The story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter 14 – Fame and Fighting**

The next morning they were awake rather early, even Ron was up and about without his usual round of complaining, and after being served breakfast by an ever so excited Dobby they made their way again to Professor McGonagall's office. She had already been awaiting them. It took some minutes of Ginny yelling through the fireplace until the twins, bother looking rather dishevelled from having just jumped out of their beds, answered back.

"Gee, brother o' mine," One of the two started.

"that's a lot too early for a friendly floo call." His brother, most probably George, continued.

"Now tell us what's up,"

"so that we can get the sleep every human being deserves."

Seeing their tight schedule ahead, Harry knew he didn't have time for too many niceties or the usual friendly bickering. "Sorry, but we have to keep it short. We'd like to ask you two a little favour."

The twins looked a bit surprised. At least Ginny normally jumped to their games, so if even she kept serious it had to be something important.

"Whatever you want, Harry, you get it." Fred told him.

"Are you two alone?"

Now they grinned a little sheepishly. "Almost, Angelina and Katie are upstairs. George, could you do a little silencing charm on the door?" They heard one of the twins mutter the incantation. "OK, the coast is clear now."

"We wondered," Harry pointed out, "if we could use the back room of your shop for a meeting this Friday in the evening."

"I guess with 'meeting' you don't mean one of the usual Weasley family get-togethers, oh-boy-who-lived?" George teased him.

"No, it's a rather, ehm, difficult topic, something that would need to be kept secret."

"So who is it?"

"We need to have a short talk with Snape."

There it was, and the twins reacted the way the others had expected them. They both stared wide-eyed through the green flames of the fireplace. "You're not serious?" One of them wanted to know. "You want to set him a trap here?"

Now it was Harry's turn to look a little sheepish. "In fact, it's not really a trap. Though we could do with some security measures, just in case."

"How can you seriously..." started George, while at the same time Fred said: "Do you really think..." Before they both fell silent.

Had it been for a different matter, all of them would have found it funny that for once the twins' usual way of finishing the other's sentence didn't work out. It was Ron who broke the news to them.

"Dumbledore left us, or rather Harry, a letter, saying Snape is innocent and was following Dumbledore's explicit orders. But as we don't want to take any risks, we agreed to test it with Veritaserum."

The twins looked a little subdued, and when Fred spoke his voice was free of the usual cheeriness. "No problem," he told them, "what time do you have in mind?"

"We'd thought nine pm would be a good time." Hermione explained to them. "Seeing it's nearly dark then, and we doubt he wants to be seen in Diagon Alley. But we'd be there an hour earlier to set everything up."

"We'll close the shop at half past seven." George promised. "Will you need anything else?" Then, after a short pause, he suddenly added: "But wait, where did you get Verita..." But his gaze fell on a blushing Hermione, and with a smile he added. "Oh, never mind."

"Thanks a lot." Harry said. "We'll call you on Friday to go over everything."

"You're welcome!" The twins said as one, and George asked: "Anything else."

"Ehm," No, Harry was about to say, but Hermione nudged him in the rips so he stepped aside a little.

"In fact, there would be something. You don't happen to have a sort of vial which keeps the potion inside simmering?"

Now the twins beamed at her.

"You are, wise Lady," Fred bowed mockingly.

"asking the right people." George finished.

"It happens that we have just that, seeing"

"that we couldn't always be asked to watch for our newest inventions,"

"while we were play... tending to more important tasks."

They all grinned back at the twins. They had a good impression of what those 'more important task' could be, especially seeing that Angelina and Katie spent a lot of their evenings with the twins. Why stir a cauldron when there are bottles to be turned?

"You couldn't perhaps lend us a few of those?" Harry inquired.

"Sure, as we said,"

"anything you ask. How about we come over for lunch and bring them?"

"That would be great! But I'm sorry, but we're a little short on time, a lot to do. See you at noon, then!"

They said their goodbyes, and after the green flames had died down, Harry turned to Hermione, grinning. "I think you should better look out for the vial with the potion once we're finished there. Or the next famous WWW invention will be Truth Cookies, or the like."

They also waved goodbye to Professor McGonagall, and no one had noticed the look on her face while she had watched the conversation from her seat behind the writing desk. Her face had been filled with a hardly suppressed smile of pride. The four pupils, she thought to herself after they had left the office, really had come a long way from the children she once had led to the sorting ceremony. They each carried a determination that would have made any member of the Order proud. "You've been right all along, Albus!" She said to herself aloud.

"It's good to see that we agree at last."

She nearly toppled over her chair, so startled was she by the voice from behind her. Turning around quickly, her eyes flew open. "Albus! You're awake!"

The old bearded wizard in the painting smiled broadly. "It's been good to have a little lie-in, I can't remember sleeping so long for the last hundred and fifty years."The portrait Dumbledore chuckled a little. "I hope everything is going as well as can be, Minerva?"

After the first surprise, the Headmistress calmed down again, after all, she should have been expecting the magical portrait to wake up one day. And she had missed the familiar voice of the former Headmaster. Though a portrait was just that, a portrait, although with most of the knowledge and the traits of the original person, and would never be the same, she was looking forward to talking to her old friend again.

That's what they did, and she relayed to him everything that had happened since the attack on Hogwarts. It took quite some time, and more than once she had to wipe away some tears that forced themselves from her eyes.

Meanwhile, Harry and his friends were busy in the Potions lab, chopping ingredients and rereading the instructions for the Veritaserum and the Wulfsbane Potion. Luckily, they didn't have to look those up in the library, as Hermione found both in her copy of '_Magical Potions for the Skilled and Curious_', which she had acquired on one of the Hogsmeade weekends.

"So the Veritaserum's to be stirred exactly every three hours for the first day, until it emits a puff of silvery steam?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, but you also have to add two drops of Moonlight Elixir every second time, otherwise it would need two full moon cycles to finish." Hermione seemingly had memorised every part of it.

Harry was busy chopping some roots of Dragon Sling into even pieces, with Hermione giving it a n approving look or correcting him from time to time. Ron was just standing to the side and watching the three of them work. Potions had never been one of his best subjects, and he was more than happy to be simply watching.

The Wulfsbane Potion had already been started, and a few leaves of some grass-like weed which Harry wasn't even able to pronounce were boiling in the cauldron together with a small spoonful of powdered Bezoar and five drops of salamander blood.

Finally pleased with the chopping Harry had done, Hermione took the Dragon Sling and slowly fed it into the cauldron, while doing a complicated set of stirring motions. The liquid gave a small hiss and turned colour to an ugly greyish brown.

"Fine!" Hermione declared. "We shouldn't need to do anything for the next three hours, now let's go to Hogsmeade."

Fetching their money bags and their robes from Gryffindor Tower, they were off. Harry had originally proposed to go through the tunnel that started at the Whomping Willow, but Hermione wasn't too fond of the idea of crawling through a dark narrow passage, so they strolled down to the Hogwarts gates and used the normal road into Hogsmeade. They had, however, pulled the hoods of their cloaks over their heads so they weren't easily recognised. Harry was happy it was still rather early in the morning, otherwise they would be sweating now in the July sun.

They reached the Post Office, and while the two girls and Ron went in to send the letter, Harry sneaked round the corner and pulled his Invisibility Cloak from his pocket, not wanting to be seen walking to the Shrieking Shack. Paying attention that he was properly concealed, which wasn't as easy anymore as it had been a few years earlier, when three of them had fit under the cloak quite comfortably, he was on his way to the worn down building.

The last hundred or so feet he went slowly, glancing around for unwanted visitors. Seeing nobody, he approached the the side entrance and opened it with a quick '_Alohomora_'. The door creaked open, and after adopting his eyes to the shadow he could immediately distinguish the loose floorboard from the others. Crouching down and prying it up a few inches, he shoved the envelope with the letter under it. His heart was beating loudly, and once again he asked himself if they were doing the right thing. He shrugged it off, and closing the door behind himself, he went back into Hogsmeade to meet up with the others at Honeydukes, which was just across the road from the Post office.

When he entered the shop, after having put away the Invisibility Cloak in the backyard, he gave the others a short nod to tell them everything went as planned, and they simply nodded back. He felt relieved. Somehow he had expected more difficulty, with Death Eaters showing up or the like.

"Oy, mate, got to see this!" Ron's load voice shouting from next to the counter startled him out of his thoughts. "You won't believe what they did!"

Harry went over to him, looking at the sweets he was pointing his finger at, and his jaw almost hit the floor.

Ron had his gaze fixed on a box of chocolate frogs. The special thing was the multi-coloured writing that hovered over it, reading 'Now with FIVE COMPLETELY NEW Famous Wizard Cards!'. Below the letters five partly translucent images of wizard cards were rotating in mid air, and one of them had the image he least expected. It was a picture of his younger self, riding on his firebolt and waving his fist in the air which held the Snitch, its wings standing out to the sides and trying to wriggle itself free.

"Congratulations, Harry." Ginny had snuggled up to him and was looking over his shoulder.

"But," Harry stammered, "how did they – why is it – I didn't do..."

Ginny gave him a friendly nudge. "I know, you didn't do anything. Only almost destroy the Dark Lord twice, successfully battling his younger self, win the Triwizard Tournament, teach half the school in DADA, battle Dementors a number of times, stand up to the Minister of Magic in the public, oh, and did mention being the youngest Quidditch Seeker in almost hundred and fifty years?"

Now he couldn't suppress a slight smile. "But still..."

"C'mon, mate," Ron slapped him on the shoulder, "I expected them to put you on one of those after the Triwizard Tournament, it's been high time now."

Just then, the shop owner came over from the back of the room. "Ah, good morning. Not many customers normally at this time of year, I must say. What can I do for you?"

Harry tried to keep his head down as much as possible, when he asked to have four of the chocolate frogs. But when the salesman bent over to open the box, his look fell on Harry's face, and he blushed excitedly.

"Oh my, you're Harry Potter! Just got this box delivered yesterday, and I was thinking to myself the kids from school will be crazy when they see. But now you're here yourself! It's an honour for me."

Harry blushed deeply, his face almost Weasley red. "Ehm, thanks."

"Of course you don't need to pay for your frogs, just grab three of them, each of you."

He tried to think whether he should accept this offer, but Ron made the decision for him and had already snatched three frogs for himself. With a silent sigh he also pulled three of the frogs out of the box, and Ginny and Hermione followed suite.

"Thanks a lot, Mr. Flume"

The shop owner was obviously flattered that Harry remembered his name. "You're welcome, Mr. Potter, it's in fact me who has to thank you. If it hadn't been for you, I doubt this shop would still be here. Dark times, those have been, truly dark times."

Harry didn't want to seem like collecting presents, so he bought a small bag of Fizzing Whissbees and Sugar Quills, and after a little arguing with Mr. Flume he was allowed to pay for it, but only because he promised to come back to visit sometime over the summer.

Next they went to Scrivenshafts to restock Hermione's fast dwindling supplies of quills and parchment. Harry managed to stay unrecognised this time. It only took a minute, and they crossed the street again and headed into Dervish and Banges, looking for anything on Horcruxes, and Harry planned to look if he found any books on Defence, as well as Transfiguration. He had thought a lot about what he would need when duelling Tom again, and thinking back to the events at the Department of Mysteries it had occurred to him that Dumbledore animating the figures from the Fountain of Magical Brethren had given Voldemort quite a hard time.

There were two books that actually looked promising, one labelled 'Animating the Inanimate: A Guide for the Novice', and the other, which looked more advanced, named 'Animaris Ultimo – Animation in its Depths'. He also put a copy of 'Duelling in Real Live Situations, A Practical Guide for Aurors and Duellists' on his stack. Hermione had already picked about ten books, and her nose could only just be seen over the stack she was carrying. Ron was by the time complaining loudly about having to carry all of those back to Hogwarts, when there were enough books in the library.

They paid their books at the counter, and once again Harry was happy about not being recognised. The witch there looked about six or seven years older than them, and she had obviously not slept very long, for she was constantly rubbing her eyes.

When being handed the bags, Hermione shrunk them with a wave of her wand, and Ron stood there a little embarrassed. He had been complaining all the time, and it hadn't even occurred to him that now, with him and Hermione being able to do Magic, this wasn't an issue anymore.

On their way back they decided to drop into the Three Broomsticks for a quick Butterbeer, as everything had gone a lot quicker than expected, and they still had more than an hour until they had to be back at Hogwarts. They were the first ones in the pub, and it was a bit strange to see it without the usual crowd of Hogwarts students filling up the tables.

"Good morning," Madame Rosmerta greeted them joyfully. "What can I bring for you four?"

"A Butterbeer for each, that would be fine, Rosmerta." Harry was used to ordering whenever they went to the Three Broomsticks.

He should, however, have anticipated the reaction of Madame Rosmerta. When she recognised his face she blushed all over her face, and a deeply troubled look fell over her eyes. "Oh Harry, I'm so sorry, I didn't recognise you straight away. I'm so sorry for what has happened,"

"It's OK, Rosmerta." Harry quickly interfered. Of course it had to be embarrassing for her to see them, after being informed that it had been her who had poisoned the Whisky that had nearly killed Filch, and who had informed the Death Eaters about Dumbledore's absence which lead to the attack on Hogwarts. And though she had been under the Imperious Course, Harry could very well understand the feeling of guilt that washed over her. "We know you couldn't do anything about it, and nobody blames you for anything."

"But still," the older woman was now weeping freely, "all those terrible things that happened, and thinking I had a part in it, how can I not blame myself. If I had just been more alert..."

Ginny had stood up from he seat and was now next to the owner of the Three Broomsticks, leading her towards their table. "Sit down for a minute."

The others felt a little awkward and didn't really have an idea what to do about the crying female. It was Ginny who found the right words to soothe her.

"You probably don't know that, Rosmerta, but in my first year at Hogwarts Lucius Malfoy slipped me Voldemort's Diary." Harry could sense that she still had a hard time talking about it. "It, it held a piece of his younger soul. I didn't know that, and I also didn't notice that it did more and more possess me. It even made me open the Chamber of Secrets and free the Basilisk. It was pure luck nobody got killed then."

Ginny now also was on the edge of tears, and Harry took it from there.

"After the Triwizard Tournament, when Cedric and me held onto the Cup, we were portkeyed to Voldemort's hiding place and captured. They used my blood to resurrect his body. And a little more than a year ago, he lured me into the Ministry of Magic, and my Godfather got killed because I didn't see they had set up a trap. Don't blame yourself for the bad things they did to you, that's just what they want. We've learned that the hard way."

Madame Rosmerta had stopped sobbing and was staring at them now. "I, I had no idea. Oh poor dears, what times do we live in?"

She was up in a hurry and just as quick had fetched five Butterbeers from behind the counter. "Those are on me. Tell me, is there anything I can do for you?"

Harry gave her a warm smile. "No, it's – actually," And his face got the hint of a grin, "there could be something. Maybe, if you don't mind, you could let drop to some of your customers that Harry Potter has been here, and that he has promised that after he has finished Hogwarts his first thing to do would be to destroy Voldemort."

"But, you can't..." Madame Rosmerta started, but was cut short by Hermione almost jumping up from her chair. "Harry, that's genius. Almost Slytherin!"

Ron stared at them, question written all over his face, while Ginny gave his hand a small squeeze under the table.

"I don't like Voldemort to feel to pressed to act against us. Maybe this will buy us some time." Harry explained.

The pub owner nodded in understanding. "I see. But certainly you don't plan to take on He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named yourself?"

Harry shrugged with a sad smile on his face. "Better we don't talk about that too much."

When they emerged from the pub a quarter of an hour later, their mood was rather subdued. Whoever they met seemed to suffer from the doings of Voldemort, and the more time he had, the more people would suffer. They were halfway to the gates of Hogwarts when Ginny gave a happy shriek. "Oh, look what I've got!" She exclaimed, waving a chocolate frog card above her head.

"No, I don't even want to guess!" Harry said and covered his eyes with his hands, but Ginny had already started to read the description on the back of the card to them.

_Harry Potter_

_Also known as The-Boy-Who-Lived_

_Famous for having vanquished He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named when only on year old._

_Youngest winner of the Triwizard Tournament ever._

_Youngest Hogwarts Seeker in hundred and fifty years._

_Harry Potter is said to be very proficient in Defence against the Dark Arts, and has been elected as Bachelor of the Month five times in a row by the readers of Witch Weekly. We expect to hear a lot more impressive news about the handsome, black haired young man, over the next years._

Ginny was giggling now, and Harry was just waiting for a big hole on the ground to open itself up and swallow him. He'd never get used to that kind of praise, he thought inwardly.

Ron elbowed him in the ribs. "You know, they're right about everything."

"Oh stop it!" Harry exclaimed, but Ron didn't let go.

"No, really. They didn't even exaggerate anything there. By the way, you wouldn't want to trade..."

"No way!" The red haired girl shouted forcefully. "You really think I'd trade the first-ever-to-be-released chocolate frog card with my boyfriend on it? Are you mental?"

"Just a thought, I'd give you two Lockharts and a Fudge in exchange." But when Ginny's scowl stayed on, he added: "Hey, just teasing you."

Harry couldn't help but laugh aloud on the idea of being traded against Lockhart and Fudge, and soon the others joined him. It was really a ridiculous thought, and it did definitely lighten up their moods. Harry kept his frogs in his pocket, afraid to find a Dumbledore card with one of them.

They were only about 100 feet from the Hogwarts gates, when a number of cracking sounds could be heard in front of them. Instantly recognising the sound of people apparating in for what it was, Harry had the sense of mind to pull his Invisibility Cloak from his pocket and drape it over Hermione. "See that you can back up to the castle and alert Professor McGonagall, or whoever is there."

"But," came the voice from his side.

"No, we need you to take care of the potions, we'll do fine on our own." He whispered.

He prayed to Merlin that Hermione would do as he had asked, but soon he could hear one of the voices he dreaded the most.

"Ah, if this isn't Itty-Bitty-Potty and his friends. Shall we do a little playing? It was sooo much fun last time we did, wasn't it!"

He didn't need to take a look behind the white mask that hid her face to recognise Bellatrix Lestrange, one of Voldemort's closest followers, who had killed his godfather at the Department of Mysteries. It took him all the willpower he could bring up to not run at her blindly. This wouldn't have been a good idea, as she was flanked by two Death Eaters on each side, and he wouldn't have managed more than a few steps as the solitary target.

Ginny and Ron were standing close to him, and like him they had their wands drawn and pointed towards the Death Eaters. Harry decided to play for time.

"Where did you leave your boss, Bellatrix? Still hiding in some dark cave, after Dumbledore put him into place the last time we met?"

He could hear the sharp intake of air from his friends, but he knew that this was the most likely way to make her waste time with insulting them.

"Oh Potty, don't you overestimate yourself a bit there? It doesn't need a Dark Lord to fight a bunch of kiddies. And where is your great Dumblydore now, tell me?"

Harry gave his best sarcastic smile, knowing that would shoot her over the top. "Why, I didn't need Dumbledore the first time I faced Voldemort." He could even see the Death Eaters cringe behind their masks at the mention of his name. "Or the second time. Or the third. Or the fourth. Shall I go on?"

"How dare you mention his name!" Bellatrix hissed at him.

"Maybe I just can. Tell me how it comes that you even fear his name, while I don't have any problems saying 'Voldemort'? Or 'Tom Riddle'? Do you really think after having faced him so often I'd be afraid of one of his followers, whom he will eventually dispose of when she has served his needs?"

"You don't know what you're saying, boy. I'm his most trusted servant!" The female Death Eater shouted enraged. One of the other masked figures seemed to sense what Harry was playing at and tried to make her aware, but he was instantly put into place by an angry growl.

That was just where Harry had wanted her. "Most trusted servant? I believe that title has most recently been transferred to someone we both know very well?" He teased her.

"Snape!" She hissed angrily. "He's nothing but a traitor. Never really been loyal to our case!"

"So tell me, why don't you go and tell your Dark Lord that? I believe he will hear out one of his most loyal followers?"

"Aahhhhrrgg!" The Death Eater was shaking of rage now, and Harry was aware that she wouldn't simply talk much longer. Just then, something caught his eyes.

"I'm really sorry, it was fun talking to you, but we are having visitors." He sent a meaningful glance towards the gates, but Bellatrix didn't bother to look around.

"You're running out of insults, Potty-boy? Too bad I won't fall..."

She didn't finish her sentence, as a female voice could be heard shouting "_Stupefy_!", and a bright light struck her in the back. Harry didn't wait for the other Death Eaters to react, but waved his wand in the direction of one of them and cried "_Sectumsempra_!". The targeted Death Eater didn't even utter a sound when he was thrown back, blood squirting from his body where the spell had opened huge gashes in his robes and skin.

The remaining Death Eaters now became aware that they were suddenly outnumbered and decided to take the smaller risk. Before anyone could react one of them grabbed Bellatrix, and with a pop he was gone, followed by the other two who had been unharmed. Harry heard Hermione's voice shouting "Incarcerous" from somewhere close to him and realised that while binding the fallen Death Eater in magical ropes she was still under the Invisibility Cloak. This instance her head appeared in mid-air, and Ron almost toppled her when he caught her in a hug. Ginny was doing the same to Harry, and now that the threat was over he felt his heart beating like it was close to exploding.

All the time he had argued with Bellatrix the thought of Ginny being in danger had nagged him in the back of his mind, and it had been hard to not let the feeling wash over him. Now he felt nothing but relief. "You OK, Gin?"

"Yes, dear. Yourself?"

"I'll be fine. They really gave me a scare."

Ginny freed herself from the hug and grabbed his shoulders, holding him at arms' length. "Harry Potter! That was the silliest, dumbest -" She seemed to fight for words, and her eyes were covered by a shiny layer of wetness, "bravest thing to do! I love you so much!"

Harry grinned sheepishly. When she had started, he really had expected to get his head washed with the famous Weasley temper that Ginny had inherited from her Mother.

"Now, couldn't let her have her way, with you so close. I was ready to hex her into next century the moment she'd threaten you."

"Oh Harry," She slapped him playfully on his chest. "You're barking mad!"

"Now tha' was qui'e a nasty spell yeh hit tha' one with, Harry!" The voice of Hagrid interrupted them, but the same second Professor McGonagall told them to walk up to the castle together with Hagrid, while she saw that the captured Death Eater was handed in by the Aurors, but asked them to wait in her office. Harry was glad he didn't have to stay any longer. They walked up the path, Ron declaring that conversation with 'the Lestrange woman' had been 'really wicked', while Harry was busy trying not to stumble with Hagrid giving the one or other slap on the back.

Arriving at the staircase to McGonagall's office, Harry was once again curious as it leapt aside without any of them telling the password. "Ehm, Hagrid, why don't we need a password to get into the office?" Harry asked the Half Giant.

"Ah, the Headmistress jus' left it withou' any for the holidays. Said wouln't be necessary."

So the four headed up the revolving stairs. When they were close to the entrance to the office, Harry startled himself. "Hermione, did you see to the potion?" But gave a relieved sigh when she simply nodded with a smile.

"Don't worry, after I got Professor McGonagall, I was down just in time to do the stirring. Everything's fine."

Once again they were waiting in the Headmistress' office, and once again after a run-in with some Death Eaters. Harry smiled weakly to himself. They would most likely get accustomed to that.


	15. Chapter 15 After the Fight is before

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

I'm really sorry that it took so long to update. I hope you're all still with me. I'm drowning in work, and the fact that my colleague is away three days a week at a customer's site doesn't help to reduce it either. Not that I would prefer having nothing to do, but most days I simply get home late, nick something from the fridge and crash into bed. Thanks to cmtayler, one of my faithful reviewers, and also to tizzy13. Happy you enjoyed the last chapter. Hi, too, to Secretworld :) And best greetings to Tess. I think your question is answered ;)

This one's again got a little less action, but instead with some twin fun. Be patient, in chapter 17 we will meet Him-Who-Killed-The-Headmaster, but I've still got to work on that chapter to make him 100 percent believable, and also on number 16 to fit in some threads so I'll have something to tie together later on.

Have fun, and please review!

_Disclaimer_: This is just a desperate attempt of one Potter-crazy to fill up the time waiting for book 7 to come out. The story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter 15 – After the Fight is before the Fight**

When they had entered the Room, Hermione had quickly conjured five chairs, four normal ones and a bigger one for Hagrid, but the Half Giant couldn't sit down. He was pacing the room, some of the boards on the wall shaking a bit with every step, making the items inside clink together. The others had taken a seat, and Harry was holding Ginny's hand, going over the fight again in his mind. The others most probably did the same.

"Oh stop it, Hagrid, and sit down. Nobody was hurt!" Ron exclaimed finally, and the others shot him a grateful look.

Hesitantly Hagrid sat down. He ruffled his beard with his huge hand. "Yeh know, tha' was quite dang'rous. Yeh should've ran away an' hid yourselves. T'was her!"

"I take it Harry and his friends had another, ehm, little encounter?"

The second the familiar voice registered in their minds, all five of them paled. Their looks went all over the room, until they recognized the new painting on the wall behind the writing desk. The Dumbledore in the portrait had the well known twinkling in his eyes and was watching them with a huge smile. "It is good to see for myself that you are all doing well. Even though Minerva has assured me that everything is allright, or as right as can be, that is."

"Headmaster!" Hagrid had finally got his voice back, and through misty eyes he stared at the portrait, once again ruffling his beard.

"Oh no, that's Albus now, Hagrid. It was time I could drop all the stiffyness that comes with official titles."

Harry smiled. The presence of his mentor, though only as an enchanted portrait, helped him soothe his worries. "Professor Dumbledore," He started.

"Albus, Harry. Just Albus."

"I'll try that sometimes," Harry assured him, and the old wizard chuckled. "How long have you been..."

"Awake? It was only earlier today that I woke up here. But Minerva has already filled me in on the most important things that have happened. She explained to me that you had left for Hogsmeade. What has happened?"

Harry was thinking about where to start, but Dumbledore changed his mind. "Never mind, you should wait for Minerva, or you will have to tell it twice. And after all, I'm just a nosy portrait."

The painted Dumbledore chuckled silently, and the five of them were fighting with mixed emotions. Luckily, just a minute later Professor McGonagall arrived, and she had Fred and George in tow. After greeting them happily, they learned that the two had arrived at the gates just in time to see the fallen Death Eater being taken away by the Aurors, and of course the twins inquired what had happened.

So the four told them about the ambush, though in Harry's opinion there wasn't very much to tell at all. It was mostly Hermione talking, with quite a few side comments from Ron about how "bloody amazing" Harry had acted, each time earning a frown from their Headmistress and an adoring look towards Harry from Ginny.

Dumbledore's portrait had been silent the entire time, and a carefull glance showed Harry that he was feigning sleep, just like the rest of the paintings. The twins were just questioning Ron for more details on Harry's argument with Bellatrix, when a thought occurred to him.

"Professor McGonagall?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"You don't think I'll get in trouble for doing underage magic, do you?" The tension was visible in his face. The last thing he needed was something for Scrimgeour to hold upon him.

"I believe you need not worry about that. The incident happened very close to Hogwarts' gates, and with all the protective magic that is around there, I'm sure the Ministry won't be able to get a clear picture. I just told them that a number of pupils, who are already of age, were here to visit, so they didn't ask any questions. And as they had the opportunity to capture a wanted Death Eater, I doubt there will be much of an inquiry."

Relaxed, Harry let out his breath. And soon after promising not to talk about the fight in the public, the four of them plus the twins left the office. Hagrid was asked to stay behind, as the Headmistress wanted to talk to him about additional security measures along the borders of the Hogwarts grounds.

They strolled down to the Potions Lab, Fred and George instantly in discussion with Hermione, while Ron was walking next to Harry and Ginny. "You know, mate," his redhaired friend said to him, "that was really impressive. I wouldn't have thought you could pull this off."

Harry smiled again a little sheepishly. Though he knew his friend wouldn't talk like this without meaning it, dealing with all the praise still wasn't second nature to him.

"Ehm, thanks, I guess."

"No, really, Harry. I couldn't have kept this cool, with all the insults she threw at you. You even reminded me a bit of Dumbledore, you know, when we were at the Ministry."

He felt a stab of pain around his chest with this words and looked down to the floor guiltily. No doubt Dumbledore would have been able to take on those Death Eaters singlehandedly. "Don't compare me to him, please. I know I'm lightyears away from Dumbledore's power."

Ginny seemed to have sensed where his thoughts were going again, as she spun him to a stop and gave him a peck on his lips. "We know you're not Dumbledore, silly, but I too think he might have rubbed off on you over the last year."

He looked into ther soft, smiling eyes, and felt comforted. "I don't know how you do this, Gin. But, you may be right. Maybe he has rubbed off on me a bit. At least I hope so."

"I know so." She once more assured him, squeezing his hand shouting: "Race you!" Before storming ahead down the corridor, brushing through her brothers, who jumped to the side with rather startled expressions.

After a second of consideration Harry raced after her, not wanting to spend a thought on what his friends may think about that, as fast as he could. Yet he didn't catch her until she had reached the door to the Potions Lab and was leaning with her back against the wall, breathing heavily. He skiddered to a stop, his face just inches from hers, and noticed the blush on her cheeks.

"You know, " he said, giving his voice a mocking sharp sound, "that girls who run away from their caring boyfriends have to be punished?"

"Please don't be too mean to me, Mr. Boyfriend!" Ginny answered him in a girlish voice, obviously having a hard time trying not to chuckle.

He took her arms, which she had held by her side, and pinned them at the wall, a little higher than her head. "Oh, I don't think you will get away so easily."

"So, Mr. Boyfriend, what will you do to me?" She gave her best imitation of a fearful voice.

"There is only one punished severe enough for a bad girl like you." he threatened, staring into her eyes.

"And what would that be, Sir?"

"Kiss me."

Ginny didn't hesitate even a moment, and when their lips met each other's, a pleasurable tingling went from there through his body. Only seconds later they were engulfed in a deep, tonguey kiss, oblivious to their surroundings, but just as quick they were brought back to reality.

"Oy! That's disgusting! I should have known it, we can't let the two of them out of our eyes for a few seconds!" Ron's voice complained from the end of the corridor. Harry instantly took a step back and tried to blink away the dreamy look from his eyes.

"Now don't overreact, dear brother," Fred told him with a smile.

"this isn't like it seems," his twin continued, "Harry's just training."

"Training for what?" Ron inquired. "How to snog? I don't believe he still needs practice in that area. If they do any more of that, those two may have to be surgically separated."

"But don't you see it, Ron?" Fred interrupted once again.

"He's only practicing how to suck Voldy's soul out!" George declared, grinning profoundly.

For a second, everyone of them was silent, then the twins and Hermione started laughing aloud. Harry could sense Ginny chuckling next to him. Only he and Ron didn't laugh.

"That's absolutely disgusting!" Harry exclaimed. "Sorry, Gin, but we'll have to quit snogging until I get that picture out of my head."

"That's indeed a picture I would have preferred to never have in my head!" Ron agreed with him. "But then, seeing you snog my sister every spare minute isn't that exciting either. And the first one would at least be for a good case."

Ginny pouted at him. "Even if being able to snog Voldemort to death would qualify as a 'Power he knows not', I'd not recommend snogging anyone but me to Harry. Or he might wish he'd only have to fight a dark lord."

The twins snickered and, while they waited for Hermione to weep her eyes and fish for the lab key, George tried to imitate an excited muggle reporter, questioning his twin brother. "So, Mr. Potter, now there is only one question left: How did you defeat the dark lord?"

Fred, instantly jumping in on the joke, lifted his hands to his eyes, the tips of his thumb and forefinger touching to form a very weak impression of glasses, and answered him with sheepish smile and a quite too poncey voice. "You know, at first I wanted to blast him to hell, but from close up he looked so sweet and lost, I simply **had** to snog him. I think he may have just forgotten breathing over it."

The twins once more broke down laughing, and Harry covered his face with his arm, giving an irritated sigh. But finally Hermione had opened the door for them, and seeing the steaming cauldrons brought an excited gleam into the twins' eyes, making them forget about any more mischief that may have been on their minds.

"Merlin's beard!" Fred shouted. "Is that what I think it is?" He gave Hermione a questioning glance.

"Ehm, I think so, yes, the liquid in the left cauldron would be the Veritaserum."

"But that's enough to interrogate a whole army!" George was equally astounded. "What will you do with all of it?"

Harry was intrigued now, too. "Is that more than the normal batch from the reciepe?" He asked Hermione.

"Well, I thought it wouldn't hurt to have some in stock, just in case..." she answered, looking a little embarassed.

Harry remembered how hard it must have been for Hermione to ignore her usual belief in authorities for the question of brewing Veritaserum, so he quickly added: "That's a brilliant idea, in fact, this way each of us can carry a small vial with him or her. You never know when it might be needed, and having to go back to Hogwarts to fetch some, or even having to brew more, might ruin any opportunities."

Hermione once more beamed at the others, and Harry felt relieved. Ginny quickly whispered "Well done!" into his ear.

"Then what's in the other cauldron?" Fred asked to no one in particular.

"That would be the reason why we need those simmering vials." Ron answered them. "It's Wulfsbane Potion for Professor Lupin." The twins nodded in understanding, aware that it had been Snape who had been brewing the Potion for Lupin over the last years on Dumbledore's behalf.

Hermione pointed out to them that the Wulfsbane was actually finished, only needing to simmer some more, and with the help of the twins she filled a number of ever-simmering vials with it which she put on a small board above the desk they were working at.

George questioned her how she planned to have the Veritaserum finished by Friday, knowing that it normally took more than a month for it to complete. Hermione fell into a lengthy explanation about the significance of moon cycles in Potion making, and how Moonlight Elixier was able to shorten the necessary timespan, while at the same time making the brewing process more fragile.

While they twins listened concentratedly to her explanations on different ingrediences which would counterbalance the elixier-induced fragility, the other three tuned out of their talk and discussed the following Friday. Harry suggested that Ron went with the twins to check if they could put up additional security measures at their shop, knowing that this would be a strategy thing he would be happy to deal with.

Ron's eyes sparkled at the suggestion, and Harry reasoned he might have felt a little left out over the last days, with Hermione and Ginny doing a lot of research and Harry, as always, being the center of attention.

So after Hermione had finished her lecture on Potion brewing, Ron quickly told the twins he would go with them. The two were also excited about that, promising him he would be able to test a number of their newest, not yet released inventions. Which seemed to worry Hermione a little, as she made them pledge to bring him back in one piece.

Having finished everything they had to do in the Potions Lab, Hermione locked the door again and they walked up to Gryffindor tower to have lunch together. Dobby was already waiting for them with a huge meal, but between Ron and his brothers, half an hour later there wasn't very much left of it. Fred and George hurried to get back to their shop, to give Lee Jordan time for a break, and took Ron with them, but before they left they took Harry to the side. Fred whispered conspiratorially into Harry's ear, while George quickly dropped something into his robe pocket, making Harry grin mischievously.

"Now what was that about?" Ginny inquired after the three boys had left, raising her eyebrow.

Harry shrugged vacantly. "Nothing much. Just wait and see."

"Oh, I hate it when you do that!" She pouted.

"Now don't tell me I have to fill you in on every little prank I'm about to pull."

"What prank?" She asked, now more than a little curious.

"See, I've already said to much. My lips are sealed now." He made the motion of pulling a zipper closed over his lips, knowing very well that one of the worst things for Ginny was being left out of a prank, but this one would be just so much more fun if she was among the victims.

"So Hermione," he quickly changed the topic, looking over to where the bushy haired witch was seated, "what do we do next?"

"You mentioned something about the four stones, didn't you?"

"You're right, I'm still feeling that I missed something about the four – wait, you're always talking about **four** stones?" Suddenly it occurred to him what it was that had been nagging on his subconscious all the time.

"Yes, why?" Now Hermione was looking at him questioningly, and Ginny had halted midway in sitting down on one of the chairs.

"Do you have the box still with you?" Harry asked, and without hesitation his friend pulled it from her pocket, handing it to him. Carefully he opened it and let his eyes wander over its contents, slowly counting the stones within.

Now that was strange. Holding the open box with one hand, he turned it for the two girls to see inside, while he unintentionally ran the other through his hair. "How many stones do you see in this box?" He asked them.

Ginny and Hermione both sent him startled looks. His girlfriend stood up from her chair and walked the few steps to him, laying a hand on his forehead. "No, it's not a fever." She proclaimed to noone in particular, but Harry quickly shook her hand away.

"Please, Ginny, I'm asking you two seriously. How many stones?" Harry got a little impatient, even if he could understand the playfulness that was still present after being visited by the twins.

"Four, of course, but I still don't see the point." Ginny said, her face a big question mark.

"And you, Hermione?"

"Four." She stared at him incomprehensively, and he almost could hear her brain at work. Suddenly her expression shifted, and her eyes grew wide. "How many, Harry?"

He exhaled lowdly, wanting to hit himself on the head for not noticing it earlier. After all, they had discussed the meaning of four of the stones in detail. "Five." He answered her.

Now Ginny was confused. "Five? There are in fact five stones in the box? How come we can't see the fifth one?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know."

But Hermione had obviously figured that out, now that she was aware of the overlooked stone. The emotions her face showed were alternating between excitement and something that resembled fear. "Oh Harry! Didn't you say that there are four rings that are considered white magic?"

"Ehm, yes?"

"And every stone is linked to one of the rings of magic?"

"You think...?" Now all three of them stared at each other wide eyed, as Hermione gave an agreeing nodd.

"But still, why don't you..." Harry scratched his head.

"Of course, you are the one the Prophecy was made for. So you would most likely be the only one trusted enough to use the stone, in whichever way you have to."

Harry thought about that, and it made sense. If the fifth stone was connected to black magic, it would be an incredibly dangerous weapon in the hands of a dark magician. He sighed once more, about to rant a little about it always having to be him who had to take responsibility, but the sound of the portrait opening cut him short.

It was too early for Ron to be back already, so he quickly snapped the lid of the box shut and slid it into his pocket, while grabbing for his wand with his other hand. Turning towards the entrance he was instantly relieved. "Hi, Professor Moody. What are you doing here?"

The old Auror with the wooden leg walked into the room, his magic eye swiveling in all directions. Ginny and Hermione also voiced their greetings, and the wizard sat himself close to them.

"Good to see you are all well. I've already met your brother in the Headmistress' office." He nodded towards Ginny. "That was quite a stunt you pulled earlier, old Bella will go lunatic." He grinned at them. "But it could as well have worked out the other way round. Just be thankful that she didn't think ahead, but I doubt that will happen again."

Harry raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

The old Auror sighed. "Now what would have happened if some Death Eaters had sneaked up to your backs, or apparated there?"

Harry's face, which had lightened up at the Auror's first sentences, fell with that. Moody was right, all three of them had been staring at Bellatrix and her croonies.

"You get that?" Moody asked.

Harry nodded with a sheepish expression. "Yes, you're right. We didn't cover our backs at all."

The wizard nodded. "Good. That's one thing you'll have to practice over the next few days. Working as a team and covering each other's backs is the best life insurance you can have in this business."

The corners of Harry's mouth went up. "So you're going to train us?"

"No," now Harry's face fell again, but not for long, "I believe we've already started."


	16. Chapter 16 Potion and Pain

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

The very best greetings to all that reviewed on chapter 15, namely cmtaylor531, morriganscrow, emoskater, Shannon14 and pele1. It took me quite some time to get something done again, and I hope you don't loose your patience. It will get better, that much I can promise.

Have fun reading, and, of course, please review.

_Disclaimer_: This is just a desperate attempt of one Potter-crazy to fill up the time waiting for book 7 to come out. The story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter 16 – Potion and Pain**

It had been rather stressfull weeks for the Muggle Prime Minister, and he had initially been glad for the half hour he had reserved for a private meeting with his secretary, away from the interrogations by the Press and the Parliament. He sat down with a huff, covering his face with his hands and resting his elbows on the table.

"Say, Kingsley, I don't know what your folk is doing right now, but this can't go on much longer." He balled his hands, hitting the table angrily. "Despite all the hopeful words your Minister sends, it is getting worse every day. And from what your paper writes, your strongest ally has been killed, leaving the way free for this Dark Lord."

Kingsley Shacklebolt gave his current employer a troubled look. "I wish I could bring you better news, Minister, but this is how things are right now."

The Minister rose from his chair once more, pacing the room with an anguished expression on his face. "I can't wait any longer, I have to do **something**. Do you realise that hundreds of people in this country have already been killed or have vanished? Every night more houses are burning down for 'unknown reasons', more people are found wandering about mindlessly. This can't go on!"

The Auror just stared at the back of the Minister, who was leaning heavily on the windowsill, not knowing what to tell him.

"Seven days." The Minister mumbled, more to himself, his gaze fixed to a non-existing point somewhere outside of the window. "Only seven days."

Kingsley Shacklebolt silently cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Minister, but what do you mean with seven days?"

The head of the Government turned around, his face pale, a grave expression written on it. "Seven days, that is about as much time I have been given until things have to look better. Don't believe for a second that it would go unnoticed by others how bad it is. The Secret Service has been jumping on my toes on a daily basis, and the Army and the Air Force have already filed complaints with the Parliament. If I can't give them anything to soothe their minds over the next week, I will have to declare a State of Emergency, maybe even call the United Nations for help! But what," and he looked at the Auror with a helpless expression, "shall I tell them our emergency is?"

Kingsley scratched his head, understanding very well the urge, but knowing just as well that there was simply nothing that could be done about it. "I'm sorry, but I'm at a loss there, too."

The Minister sat down again, and both of them sat in silence for some minutes, making an effort not to look at one another. Suddenly the Minister's brow twitched. His secretary had learned that this was always the sign of an idea that had just occurred. And in fact the man's face brightened a little, and fishing a complicated looking key from his pocket, he stuck it into a hole in the bottom drawer of his desk. Giving it a slight turn, he typed a long number on a keypad on the top of the desk with his other hand, and having done that, he put his index finger on a small square right beside the keypad.

With a silent click the draw sprang open, and he fetched a newspaper from it. He tossed it at the Auror. "Tell me about that boy!"

When Ron arrived back from his brothers, he found his friends draped on the sofas in the Common Room, looking all in all rather tattered and exhausted. Raising an eyebrow, he asked to no one in particular: "So what have you lot been up to?"

"Oh stuff it!" His sister replied. "You know very well that Moody has offered to give us a little training. You'll soon enough see for yourself what it's like."

Ron smirked at her and shrugged. "Hey, keep calm. I just wanted to be polite."

"Like you happen to know the meaning of that word." Ginny retorted, being instantly shushed by her boyfriend.

"Oh come on, stop that!" Harry exclaimed with a dramatic sigh. "For once Ron and Hermione have stopped their usual bickering, and I was really enjoying the peace. What's up with you, Gin?"

"Sorry. It's just - you know, I'm completely knackered, my back hurts, so do my legs and my arms, and I would love to eat something, but I'm not sure I'd be up to lifting a spoon."

A silent chuckle came from Hermione's place. "Yes, that's about how we all feel at the moment. Not that it hadn't been fun."

Harry grinned at her. "Especially when I got you good with that Confundus charm and you gave every chair in the room jelly legs."

"You really did?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione with wide eyes, who instantly blushed a deep shade of crimson and tried to vanish in the cussions. "I can't believe it that I didn't get to see it."

"Do you really need to rub it in?" Hermione asked him with a hint of anger in her eyes.

"Oh c'm on, Mione, you would have laughed too if it had been me instead of you." Harry tried to calm the situation, and for once it worked. Hermione relaxed, and Ron sat down beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and whispering something into her ear that made her giggle.

"So how did it go at the twins'?" Ginny asked her brother, whose eyes began to sparkle at the question.

"You wouldn't believe all the stuff they've come up with," he exclaimed, "bloody brilliant, if you ask me. They've got those little thingies you stick on a door frame, and the moment it's closed the whole door vanishes. George let me try one of their WereWaffles, you get those yellow eyes from them like a Werewulf, really scary. But the best thing were the Mutating Marshmallows, which let you sprout arms and legs all over, and a big hump, until you're even uglier than Filch, and that's to say something!"

Harry, as well as the girls, couldn't stop himself from laughing at the excited description Ron gave, making strange gestures in the air that most probably should have ilustrated the extraneous limbs.

When they had all calmed down again Hermione tried her best to look a little gruffy, yet without being really convincing. "Honestly, Ron, Ginny wanted to know if everything will be all right on Friday."

Brought back to reality, her boyfriend sighed and nodded his head. "Yeah, I really think it will be all right. The twins will clean out the room a bit, you know, put away any stuff that could backfire on us, and with the backroom having no windows, there shouldn't be any surprises."

"Good." Harry nodded, relieved that things seemed to work out well. Then a thought occurred to him. "Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"When exactly's the next full moon."

"That's Tuesday next week, the eleventh. Oh!"

Ron raised his eyebrows questioningly, and seeing that, his sister just rolled her eyes in their sockets.

"Should we invite him to come over this evening?" Hermione asked.

"I think we should try, I'll just jump over to McGonagall and see where I can reach him over the Floo." He was on his feet in an instant, ready to bolt, but Ginny asked him to wait. She raised herself from the sofa, only to find that standing up was too much of an effort after the workout Moody had given them.

"It's okay, Harry, I'll just wait here," she finally stated in resignation, letting herself slump back into the cussions, "because I don't think you want to carry me the whole way."

"I'll be right back." He shouted over his shoulder, already halfway through the portrait hole.

"I don't know how he does that," Ginny sighed, "one second he's all burnt out, the next he's up and running like he had just slept all night."

"Well," Ron answered her with a shrug, "that's Harry. There are two things in the world that nobody will ever understand, that's him and girls! Speaking of understanding – what was that all about?"

Ginny rolled her eyes again. "Full moon – Remus Lupin – Wolfsbane – does that ring a bell?"

From the blush rising in his face, Ron finally caught on, while the girls sniggered at him.

When Harry reached the door to Professor McGonagall's office he was seriously out of breath and had to wait a minute outside the door to steady himself before knocking. He was asked inside as soon as his knuckles had hit the door, and with a pleasant surprise found that the headmistress wasn't alone in her office.

"Remus! It's good to see you. I was just coming here to find a way to call you!"

His former teacher had risen from his seat and gave him a quick hug, a smile on his face. "Anything in special you want to talk about?"

Harry blushed a bit as he couldn't completely suppress the look of anticipation. "Actually, we have a little suprise for you, and we wondered if you'd like stay for dinner?"

"In fact," Remus Lupin smiled at him, "we just decided that I'll stay here for dinner, and as the headmistress is expecting two more visitors this evening, it will be held down in the Great Hall."

"Is there anything else, Harry?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"No, Headmistress."

"Then if you would be so nice to inform the others that dinner will be ready in about half an hour. I've got a few things left to discuss with Professor Lupin."

"Of course, Professor. See you both at dinner!"

They had to hurry to get ready in time, as Harry and the girls had to change their clothes and take a quick shower, still being all sweaty after the training session with Moody, and they had to go down to the dungeons to fetch the Wolfsbane Potion for Remus. So they were just in time for dinner when they entered the great hall.

The places had all been set at the head table, and Professor McGonagall and Remus Lupin were already there, and next to them sat Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Ron nudged Harry into the ribs as they approached the table. "Wonder what they're doing here."

Hermione answered for him. "They're probably just here to see over the wards, or some other security stuff, seeing that the headmistress plans to re-open Hogwarts in fall."

They took their seats across from the headmistress and her guests and greeted everyone around. Tonks gave each of them a friendly smile, while Kingsley Shacklebolt looked a bit worn and barely seemed to notice them. As soon as everyone had found a place, the food appeared on the table out of nowhere. In the blink of an eye Ron had filled his plate to the rim, and Harry noticed with amusement that Hermione and Ginny weren't far behind. The workout with the old Auror seemed to have raised the girls' appetite to new heights.

Which the grown-ups lacked a bit, apparently. Each of them took only a few spoonfulls, he assesed. And seeing the familiar crease on Professor McGonagall's forehead, he knew that something had happened, another score for Voldemort. His mood dropped miles, and once more he felt a knot in his stomach. It wouldn't be anything too serious, he assured himself, or they would have been told outright. But whatever it was, it reminded him of the task ahead, and how time was running short.

Dinner went by relatively silent, but his three friends didn't care, being busy eating. Harry tried his best to avoid looking the others in the eyes, but he could feel the tension building up. So when Hermione, being the last, finally put her fork down, he cleared his throat.

"So, what is it?" He asked the adults.

A little silence ensued, which was broken by Tonks.

"The Minister was attacked today."

"Is he...?"

"No. Only slightly injured, but two Ministry officials died, and, well, I don't know how I should put it, ..."

Next to Harry, Ginny had balled her hands and switched from pale to flushed state. "He blames Harry, doesn't he?" Her eyes sparkled angrily.

Shacklebolt sat up straight. "Yes, he does, and it seems that there are a few people around him who encourage this sentiment. We were able to dissuade him from holding a press conference immediately after it had happened, but this might grow into a serious problem."

Harry hung his head. Things were getting back to the same spot where they had been with Fudge, something he had hoped could be avoided. But, he told himself, this time things were different, so he straightened his shoulders and looked Shacklebolt into the eyes.

"Do we have anything we can make some kind of deal with him, so he will at least let us do our own stuff?" He wanted to know.

"At the moment, I don't think we are in a position to bargain with him. With the Weasleys in shelter in the Ministry building, he's on the inside track."

Harry nodded. They would have to keep their eyes open for an opportunity, maybe make a few concessions.

"Apart from this news, there is a favour I'd like to ask of you, Harry." Shacklebolt looked at him a little doubtful, as if he didn't think it a good idea. Harry asked him to go on. "The Muggle Prime Minister has asked me to invite you. He's been reading the Daily Prophet over the last weeks, and he insisted that he wants to meet you."

Now Harry groaned. How would he be able to fit that in. Hermione, on the other hand, had gotten eyes like saucers hearing that, and was practically jumping in her seat. Ron was scratching his head, unsure of what to make of that, while Ginny seemed rather untouched by the news.

"OK, I guess. When?"

"Would it be possible this friday in the evening?" Kingsley asked.

"Ehm, in fact, friday is rather bad." Harry admitted.

"Harry!" His headmistress exclaimed indigantly. "You can't just cancel an appointment with the Prime Minister, muggle or not!"

"I'll have to," Harry answered, offended, "because sometimes there are things more important than a Minister. I'm available every other time he sees fitting, but not friday evening."

Now it was Kingsleys turn to scratch his head, but Tonks answered. "Well, if you say you can't make it on friday, he'll have to tell him that."

"Please tell him I'm really sorry, and every other time, even on short notice, I'd be happy to visit."

Remus regarded Harry with a questioning gaze. "What have you four planned for friday? I hope it isn't anything dangerous."

Harry hated to lie to his former teacher, and decided against it. "It is a bit dangerous, but it must be done. Anyway, there will be even more dangerous situations soon, so no need to worry. I can't tell any of you, though."

Lupin appeared a bit put back by that answer, but swallowed it down. "You know, Harry, we're all here to help you, you need only ask."

He sent the Werewulf a smile. "Thanks, I know, Remus. And I will, before this is all over. But there are a few things we have to do on our own first. But there's something we want to talk with you about, do you have a few minutes?"

"Sure," Mooney replied, and Harry thought he had seen something like relief in the man's eyes, "should we go up to Gryffindor Tower, that is, if nobody else has anything for you?"

None of the other adults had anything for him, so they said goodbye for the night and, accompanied by Remus and Tonks, made their way up to Gryffindor Tower. Ginny had linked arms with Harry, but was talking to Ron, the both of them having a competition about who could come up with the worst names for Scrimgeour. Remus was walking on Harry's other side, and he registered that the Werewulf was wearing new clothes that, for once, did really fit him. That made him look a few years younger.

Tonks and Hermione were soon involved in a discussion about some beauty stuff Harry wasn't interested in at all. Soon they had reached the Portrait entrance. It seemed that the staircase wasn't as insistent on switching destinations at the most unfitting moment as it was during regular school, Harry had the feeling.

After everyone had entered and the Portrait had swung shut again, they all sat down in a group of comfortable armchairs, Tonks laying an arm around Remus' back and sitting on his lap, which made the former teacher blush. Harry grinned, and Ginny sent Hermione a look saying "I told you so," that only heightened Remus' embarrassment.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" he finally asked, trying his best to ignore the female Auror on his lap, whose hair had started to cycle through all colours of the rainbow.

Hermione stood up and fished inside her dragonhide bag, and a light clinking of glass could be heared. "To be honest, it's not as much talking, instead we've got something we wanted to give you" she said, pulling seven small vials from the bag.

Remus raised his eyebrow curiuosly. "What's that?" he asked, unable to make anything of the potion containers the bushy-haired witch lined up on the table before him. Carefully he extended an arm and picked up one of them, holding it against the light and scratching his head.

"You might want to give it a sniff," Ron offered, "but then, you might also want to not sniff and simply gulp it down, as there are better smelling things."

Lupin visibly held his breath. He slowly pulled the cork from the vial and whisked a bit of air over the neck of the vial, and smelling the familiar flavour, he paled.

"Is that..."

"Wulfsbane Potion," Hermione confirmed, "filled in ever-simmering vials, so it doesn't get old and doesn't need to be brewed freshly every day."

"But how..." Looking closely, Harry saw that his eyes had misted over a bit.

"That's all Hermione's doing," Ron explained proudly, "the vials are from Fred and George."

Lupin was at a loss for words and just that there, a mix of emotions running over his face, clenching Tonks' hand, whose eyes alternated between Remus, Hermione and Ron. Finally, she jumped up from his lap and rushed over to Hermione, nearly pulling Remus from the chair, who realized a bit late that he needed to let go of her hand. She embraced the witch in hug worthy of Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh Hermione, that's so dear of you! Remus has been looking for someone to brew the Potion for him in vain for ages!"

Hermione grinned shily over her shoulder, while Ron beamed at her. Lupin rose from his chair slowly and approached Hermione, who slowly extricated herself from Tonks' hug, holding out his hand. A little awkward he shook hers, muttering 'thank you' again and again, until he suddenly exclaimed "Bloody hell!" and also pulled her into a tight hug.

"You can't know how much that means to me!" He stated hoarsly, running one hand over his eyes.

Harry reveled in the happy moment, and had absentedmindedly started to stroke Ginny's back. The red-haired witch had snuggled in his lap and was also intently watching.

He thought back to the one transformation he had witnessesed Remus go through, back in third year, when the Werewulf had forgotten to take his potion, and remembered how broken he had still looked days after that. He felt glad that were able to ligthen his friend up.

Tonks confirmed later, after Remus had excused himself due to some Order stuff, how much strain the lack of Wulfsbane had put on him, and expressed her own gratitude. Hermione enthusiastically tried to explain the intricate details of the brewing process to her, but at one point the Auror just resigned, explaining that advanced Potions had always been a hard subject for her, and this would be still a few steps over her head.

When she had also left, Ginny snuggled even closer, if that was possible, and gave him a peck on the lips.

"That was sooo sweet to watch!" She exclaimed, a dreamy look in her eyes, which, in Harry's opinion, made her look good enough to eat her. So he told her.

He was just expecting the feel of soft lips on his again, when an excrutiating pain hit his head, like a chisel being driven through his scull. Waves of agony swept through him, and then he was in darkness, with a pair of red, snake-like eyes staring at him gleefully.

"God evening, Harry," a hissing voice he instantly recognized whispered, "or a not so good one, if I may take the liberty to be truthfull. I just felt in the mood to give you a little foretaste of what you can expect very soon. Have fun!"

A gleefull laughter filled his ears, and then an even worse pain shot through him, like all his limbs being torn off, and millions of knifes being twisted in his flesh. Spots of lights danced before his eyes, and his muscles spasmed and shook. He couldn't even think, everything was just agony, for what seemed to be millenia.

Then, finally, the pain lessened. 'I must be dying.' he thought, gratefully, before his conciousness was swept away.


	17. Chapter 17 New Determination

**Harry Potter and the Fifth Soul**

Greetings to all still faithful readers – I won't put a hex on you if you have abandoned me by now. I know it has been far too long since I updated, but life outside the Potterverse was plotting against me. I'll make no further promises, but I'll try my best to finish before Deathly Hallows appears.

_Disclaimer_: This is just a desperate attempt of one Potter-crazy to fill up the time waiting for book 7 to come out. The story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter 17 – New Determination and a Revelation**

Harry felt himself floating weightlessly, and a soothing warmth spread all through him. He revelled in the feeling, wanting to stay like this forever. A strange noise, one that he couldn't place at once, pulled him out of his trance like state. He tried to remember what had happened, he knew somehow something was off, but his mind was like a black void. Mastering all his power, he managed to open his eyes a bit, and he had to blink rapidly, almost blinded by the sunlight that was streaming in from a windows above his head. After the swarm of black dots dancing before his eyes had disappeared, he saw, albeit blurry, a grey figure hunched next to him.

His head started to throb, and he was tempted to shut his eyes again and try to drift back into the worry free nothingness he had been in before, but the figure shook slightly, and the noise was there again, now recognizable as a suppressed sob. He forced himself to become more awake, which worked but also made him more aware of his aching head.

"Remus?" he managed to croak hoarsely, and the figure jump from the chair, toppling it over in the process.

"Harry!" the Werewolf shouted, with a mixture of joy and disbelief, "you're awake!" Harry flinched, every word sent a stab of pain through his head, but his former teacher didn't notice. Instead he was pulled into a tight hug and felt warm tears on his neck.

"Merlin," the man was sobbing freely now, "I thought I'd never talk to you again! I thought you too had..." His voice broke.

Harry felt a familiar smell tickling his nostrils, and it became clear to him that he was, once again, in Hogwarts' hospital wing. The older wizard slowly let go of him, and then gripped his forearms, as if afraid to let go completely.

"What happened?" Harry asked, his voice sounding a bit slurred.

"Your scar..."

Then he remembered, and with the memory of the pain floating back into his consciousness, he couldn't help shuddering. The darkness, the pain, those red eyes – but worst of all, that feeling of resignation, the gratefulness for finally being over with it, all rushed through him again and made him tremble.

The meaning of that last second before he had lost consciousness became clear to him, and he closed his eyes in shame.

"Harry? Harry!" Remus' voice sounded frantic now. "Stay with me, Harry!"

"I was too weak!" Harry pressed through his teeth.

"But how can you say that, you..."

"You don't understand it! I've let everyone down!" He shouted, as loud as his sore throat would allow.

"Bullocks, Harry, we love you, we..." Again Harry didn't let him finish his sentence, ignoring the desperation in the Werewolf's voice.

"You weren't there, but I was too weak, I gave up! I was too weak to fight him, and he wasn't even there himself. He should have killed me sixteen years ago, maybe Neville'd have had more of a chance!"

Harry had sat up in his bed, staring into the other wizard's eyes, who was still clutching to his arm, tears streaming down his face and blurring his vision even more.

Suddenly a shriek sounded from the other end of the infirmary, followed by approaching footsteps and a stern voice. "Remus Lupin, what do you think you..."

The footsteps came to a halt, then after a short, silent moment, the room was filled with a loud crash, as Madame Pomfrey dropped the tray full of vials she had been carrying.

"Oh Merlin! That's a miracle! Harry, you're awake!"

He flinched again, every syllable sending a hot knife cutting into his skull. He slumped back into the cushions, and in the blink of an eye the healer was at his side, examining him from head to toe with looks and spells. Finally, she gave a relieved sigh and grabbed a potion vial from the night stand, removed the cork and set it on Harry's lips.

"You must drink that, Harry," she told him in her familiar, worried-but-no-nonsense voice.

He blinked his eyes in agreement and opened his mouth a bit, gulping the slightly bitter liquid as the nurse tipped the vial over. He recognized it immediately, and allowed himself to fall back into a dreamless sleep.

"What did you give him, Poppy?"

"Dreamless Sleep potion, mixed with a restorative draught, he needs to..." were the last words Harry heard before he drifted off again.

When he woke again, the pain in his head had considerably diminished, hardly more than a slight throbbing anymore. He also felt stronger now, refreshed, the restorative potion had obviously done its work.

He tried to lift his arm to reach out for his glasses, but his stirring didn't go unnoticed, and he heard Ginny's voice. "Harry!" She exclaimed happily. An instant later he felt soft, warm lips brush his, and he eagerly kissed her. Then he remembered once more, and, ashamed, he pulled back and turned his head away.

"Harry?" Ginny asked, with a startled tone. He didn't know what to tell her, he only felt that he didn't deserve her.

"I'm sorry, Gin."

"Harry, talk to me," she requested, sounding fearful and – hurt, he realized, and that gave him a stab.

But she wasn't someone to easily push away, so she grabbed his head and turned him towards her forcefully. He tried to avoid her gaze, but she put his glasses on his nose, and when he saw her tear-stained face and the purple rings under her eyes, he couldn't look away anymore.

"Harry, I love you, and..."

Again he tried to interrupt, but she wouldn't have that and simply covered his mouth with her hand.

"Oh no, Harry James Potter," she snapped at him, "now you listen to me first. I love you, we all love you, and there is nothing in this world for you to be ashamed of. So cut that brain-dead idea at once! He-Wh – Voldemort hit you with a curse, we believe he somehow managed it through your scar, and Madam Pomfrey said it must have been like multiple very strong Cruciatus curses. She told us," Ginny gave a sob, and Harry blanched at the terror evident in her face, "she told us to expect, to exp..."

She broke down on top of him with a strangled cry, her face falling onto his chest, and her body started racking with loud sobs. He instinctively began to stroke her back, feeling miserable himself for the pain she evidently experienced, and tried to find something to soothe her, but couldn't.

After some minutes she had calmed down and lifted her head. Her wet eyes bore into his, and she took a deep breath. "She said it was likeable you'd be in the same state Neville's parents are in."

It took him a minute to process that. For what he knew, Neville's parents had been hit with the Cruciatus curse for hours, until their mind had finally broken down. He remembered seeing their mindless forms in the ward for permanent spell damage in St. Mungo's, like empty puppets, lying on their beds or wandering around aimlessly. He gulped.

"Gin, I..."

"I'm not through yet, Harry." Once more she sounded rather determined now. "It must have been a very old, very dark, and, what Professor McGonagall told as, an incredibly strong curse. He won't be able to cast it again anytime soon, and until he can we will have a counter for it. Hermione's already in the library and working on it."

He had to smile. No matter what the problem was, Hermione would look for the right book to solve it, and wouldn't rest until she had done so.

"What are you grinning for?" Ginny asked.

"You don't think," he asked with his best Marauder grin, "that the answer's in 'Hogwarts, a History'?"

"Harry Potter!" She shouted, hitting his arm playfully.

But the next moment his face went sober once more. "Thank you, Gin."

"What..."

"No, Gin, please listen to me. When that curse hit me, it hurt so much, I couldn't think of anything else but the pain. After some time it got so bad that all I wanted was for it to end, by whatever means. Even dying seemed like a gift. I didn't think of you, or Ron, or Hermione. I only wanted to die, and I would have given anything for that. At that moment, he had won!"

He had looked down while talking, and lifting his gaze again, saw her crying silently, wet trails running all over her cheeks.

"You know, Gin, when I first woke up, and realized this, I felt that I let you down. I still don't know how I could be able to face him, if he can hurt me that much from the distance. But I promise that I'll fight with every last breath to have you with me when I wake up."

They both had to fight their tears back and looked wordlessly at each other. Ginny noticed honesty and compassion in his eyes and the slightly forlorn look on his face. She was very much reminded of the small boy she had once met for the first time on platform 9 ¾, and instantly fallen in love with.

She stood up and took off her robe, folding it neatly on the foot of the bed. He stared at her with questioning eyes, but she put a finger on her lips to silence him. Slowly she lifted the bed sheath and climbed in, resting on her side, her back facing him.

"Hold me," she whispered, and also turning to his side, he did that. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, so hard that it almost hurt her, but at the same time it felt unbelievably good.

"I love you!" he whispered softly into her ear.

"I love you too," she purred back, "and I also want to wake up with you, every day of my life."

They both felt a soothing warmth engulf them and drifted off into happy dreams. They didn't notice the soft, barely audible, crackling noise around them, like little sparks of electricity, and they didn't see the soft golden glow of light that danced all over their sleeping figures for minutes.

The next time he awoke, he heard a number of hushed voices around him and figured that his friends were all here. His mind registered that Ginny was still tightly wrapped in his arms, and a smile spread over his face. He slowly extricated an arm and grabbed his glasses from the night stand. Now able to see clearly, he let his gaze wander around. Ron was sitting on a chair next to the foot end of the bed, with Hermione on his lap, the both of them whispering something he couldn't make out. Remus and the twins were on the other side of the bed, with a large tome open between them, with Remus pointing out things and the twins nodding enthusiastically. On the foot end Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall were having a silent, though no less animated, discussion, with Poppy Pomfrey gesturing in the air and the Professor nodding from time to time with a serious expression.

"Morning," Harry croaked, "or whatever time it is. How long have I been out?"

All of the assembled people stopped their talk in this instance. Hermione jumped from her sitting position and threw herself at Harry, hugging him close. "Harry, I'm so glad you're OK!" She exclaimed. That startled Ginny awake, too, who looked around the room frantically before she realized where she was. The others also rushed to Harry's side and it took some minutes until they had all padded his shoulders, shaken his hand and expressed their gratitude over his recovery until he was allowed some personal space again.

He found a glass of water on the night stand and greedily took some gulps, revelling in the soothing feeling on his still sore throat.

"OK, now tell me, how long?" He asked once again.

"You've been out for almost two days." Ron explained. "It's Friday in the morning."

Harry groaned. This meant that today was the meeting with Snape, and he hadn't really prepared for that. Reluctantly he sat up and swung his feet over the edge of the bed.

"What do you think you are doing, Harry Potter!" Madam Pomfrey demanded to know.

"Getting up," he answered her, "there's a lot I have to do until tonight."

"I don't think so!" She told him sternly. "You're not leaving the bed today, with all the after effects of the curse you're lucky to be up and about on Sunday."

Harry paused. What after effects did she relate to? His sore throat was something he was used to after being out for this amount of time, but apart from that he didn't feel anything unusual.

"Could you give me a quick check over before we discuss this?" He requested.

The healer sighed, but did as he asked, letting her wand roam over his body in the usual way. He could see that she was surprised by what the spells told her, and when she was finished she confirmed that by starting the routine anew.

"I can't believe that," she finally explained with big eyes, "there's no trace left from the curse. There should still be a lot of damage to the nerve ends and receptors and high brain activity!"

"So this means I'm completely healed!"

Madam Pomfrey paused for a few seconds, conflicting emotions running over her face. "Yes, it seems so. However, I must insist that you stay here a little longer just to be safe."

He sent his friends a meaningful look, asking them to back him up. "I'm sorry, but I simply can't afford to lie around just now. But I promise you that I won't strain myself too much."

The healer turned towards Professor McGonagall, silently asking for help. She was used to Harry's stubbornness when it came to staying in the hospital wing, but usually she had been able to rely on Dumbledore, who had always been able to convince him to stay a little longer.

But the Headmistress simply shrugged, looking a bit torn herself. "I understand your reasoning very much, Poppy," she told her, "but knowing what Harry and his friends need to accomplish over the next time, we should let him make the decision himself."

Finally, with a slight huff, Madam Pomfrey gave in. "If you're all determined to question my authority, you may very well leave, Harry, but that's solely on your own responsibility. Don't complain to me if you experience some late after effects."

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Harry answered her politely. "I do understand why you want me here. I simply can't afford it right now, but when time comes you will understand."

The healer now looked at him surprised. "Oh Harry," she said, her voice now soft again, "you're sounding just like Albus now. I'll give you another strengthening potion, just in case, then you can be off." She was instantly rushing towards her office to fetch the potion, while the others, who had watched the exchange silently, all stared at him with contemplative expressions.

"What is it with everyone comparing me to Dumbledore?" Harry inquired sternly, which brought a broad smile on the face of Professor McGonagall.

"That is something you might want to get used to," she answered him in an amused tone, "and everyone present will second me that you have in fact taken on a lot of his traits. Not for the worse, I can assure you."

"Have I really?" He asked, wondering what it was that he had picked up from his mentor.

"You know, mate," Ron confirmed with a grin, "she's dead right there. You even get that twinkle in your eyes when you're up to something."

"Do I?" He asked Ginny, who was holding his hand under the cover.

Giving it a short squeeze, she nodded. "And I love it sooo much!" She told him teasingly, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

Now he grinned too. "Then I think I won't complain about it, if that helps in making my fiery witch happy!"

"Not that you needed anything beside being yourself to make me happy, my knight in shining armour!" She whispered in his ear, still loud enough for everyone to hear.

The both had a hard time not bursting out laughing as Ron cleared his throat as loud as he could. "You know, I'm OK with you two being together, but there are some things you should keep between yourselves."

"Now, brother, ..." one of the twins intervened.

"...maybe you cut off a slice for yourself." The other continued.

"I think your girlfriend wouldn't mind..."

"...you being a little more sensitive from time to time."

Just then Madam Pomfrey was back with a vial of strengthening potion, and after gulping it down he was allowed to leave. Professor McGonagall excused herself, having to do some more paperwork for re-opening Hogwarts, and Remus had some Order matters to attend to. So the four of them together with Fred and George went up to Gryffindor tower. Ginny and Hermione filled him in on everything that had happened after he had passed out.

He still was shaken by hearing how close of a call it had been. Hermione had spent almost the whole time in the library searching for ancient spells that showed this kind of symptoms, and she had already narrowed it down to three possibilities, all of them really dark magic. Only the symptoms of the spells had been mentioned in the books in the restricted section, so she couldn't be a hundred percent sure which one it was. But all of them required special star constellations to be cast successfully, so she was confident that Harry was safe for the time being.

Once in the Gryffindor common room they quickly called Dobby to order some breakfast, as the twins had complained they wouldn't be able to talk with Ron's stomach growling that loud. The tiny elf was beside himself with happiness that Harry was fine, and it took them some time to calm him down again. Harry was embarrassed as always with the elf's devotion for him and didn't even hear Ginny whisper into Hermione's ear "the two of them are sooo cute!"

"So you still going through with the Snape thing today?" Ron asked, munching away on his scrambled eggs and earning an exasperated sigh from Hermione.

"I don't think we should change the plan. We need to know if he's really on our side, and if he is, he needs to know that we aren't hanging around lazily."

"You really think it possible?" Ginny asked.

Harry sighed. Yes, he couldn't understand why, but somehow his trust for Dumbledore had made him honestly consider this possibility. "Yeah, don't know why, but with everything that's going on, stranger things would have happened."

"You still should be careful!" Fred told him.

"After all, he made your life hell the last six years." George backed him up.

"Well, there's one thing I was thinking about," Harry told them, "I want to make sure he can't use Legillimency on me."

Ginny looked at him worriedly. "I thought the only way to block it is Occlumency?"

Harry nodded. "That's what I was told, but there has to be something else."

He looked over to Hermione, whose face was wrinkled in concentration. "Do you have an idea, Hermione?"

In answer she gave a loud huff and stamped her foot on the floor. "I know I've read something, but I can't remember where that was!"

"What kind of spell is it that you use?" George wanted to know.

Hermione explained to them all that Legillimency wasn't a normal spell but somewhere in between raw magic and a dark curse, with most of the usual rules for a curse to apply.

"Too bad," Fred said, "this means that you can't use a normal shield,"

"because those only work for hexes and charms." His twin brother told them.

Hermione nodded. "Normally you would use a solid object to block it, but that's not an option if we want to sneak him the Veritaserum and talk to him."

Suddenly Ron's face lit up. "What about a ward? Can't we just put a ward around Harry?"

Hermione, however, shook her head. "No, you can't put a ward on a person. You need to anchor it on a surface to work. That..." Suddenly, she stiffened, her eyes getting big, and after looking back and forth between Ron and Harry a few times she jumped up and kissed her boyfriend, nearly toppling him over with his chair."

"You're a genius, Ron!" She shouted, jumping up and down just like Dobby when he was excited. "Of course, why didn't I think of that. We can put a basic warding layer on your glasses, and as Legillimency is a rather weak curse, it should work just fine without any special runes!"

Ron had blushed up to the tips of his ears, resembling a tomato, at being complimented like this. Ginny and the twins snickered about that, but everyone's focus was quickly back on Hermione, as she explained the concept to them.

"You see, the only way to block curses, especially the mind controlling ones like Imperio or Legillimency, are wards. For the powerful ones you need an equally powerful ward, which in turn needs a big object to be anchored on, like a house or a castle. But Legillimency is a lot weaker than the other curses, so it can be reflected by just doing the ground layer for the warding, not even needing an actual ward itself, at least that's what one of my Arithmancy books says. Give me your glasses, Harry!"

He took the glasses off and handed them to his friend, who anxiously took it from him. With creases on face from concentration she muttered a long incantation, drawing a complicated rune on one of the lenses. The glasses shortly glowed slightly blue before they once again look like nothing had happened.

She handed them back to him, and Harry was glad that he could get rid of the blurry vision again.

"So how do we test if it works?" Ron wanted to know.

Everyone looked around, to see if someone else had an idea.

"I don't think we can," Hermione finally said, "the only one who can do a bit of Legillimency is you, Harry."

"So what's the Problem?" Ginny asked, snatching the glasses from his nose and putting them on her own. "Ugh, I think I'm going to be sea-sick!" She teased him.

When Harry didn't move, she gave his shin a playful kick. "C'm on, try it."

Harry paled a bit as memories of the horrible intrusions into his own mind rose to the surface. Fumbling with his wand he asked, "Are you sure? I mean, really sure? I don't think this will be pleasant."

His girlfriend stared at him with her now well-known determination. "Believe me, I know what this is about, and I don't have anything to hide from you."

Harry relaxed a bit, well aware that this was the only way to prove if the wards held against Legillimency. Hermione elbowed a scowling Ron, keeping his over-protective older brother side from taking control.

"Fine," Harry said, "on three. One. Two. Three." He spoke the spell, his eyes fixed on hers, preparing for the onrush of memories he had experienced the one time he had dug through Snape's. Nothing happened.

Ginny gave a cry of triumph. "See, it works!"

Harry still wasn't too sure about that. "What if I didn't do it right?"

Ginny sobered instantly. "There's only one way to prove it." She took the glasses off, folding them and putting them on the table. "Try it again."

This time Harry felt his heart beat like mad in his chest, and his arm trembled a bit. He gripped tighter to his wand, knowing there was no way around it. His eyebrow rose in a silent questions that was instantly answered by a determined nod from Ginny. This time he didn't care about counting to three, it wouldn't change anything. "_Legillimens_!" he spoke clearly, and he felt as if rushing through a colourful tunnel at incredible speed.

He instantly realized that the spell had worked and tried to break eye contact, but there was one memory that stood out between all others, drawing him towards it like a moth to a fire, paralyzing his movement. The picture of a dimly lit room appeared before his eyes, and when the movement stopped he could see burning candles around him on the floor. Around Ginny, he remined himself. She had her left hand stretched out, her palm facing upwards, and a narrow red line of a cut was visible across it. Her other Hand was moving the tip of her wand in a complex pattern over it as she began to recite.

"_My powers shall now be thine to command_

_and my life to thy life be bound._

_For love forge this oath with as strong a tie_

_that no force shall it ever severe._

_I willingly give, and back never ask,_

_so sealed be this bond for all time._"

Having an idea what the ritual was all about, he now forcefully pulled himself back into his own mind. Panting he stood, rooted to the spot, until the disorientation had faded enough to formulate a straight thought. His eyes mit his girlfriend's, who was looking at him with a mixture of expectancy and fear, her face white as chalk.

"You saw it?" she more declared than asked, her voice hoarse and shaky. When he nodded, she turned away, but with two quick steps he was behind her and twirled her around, his anger at the stupidity of her act evaporating when he saw the pained look in her eyes.

"Ginny," he began, but not knowing what to say, he pulled her close. He could hear a suppressed sob coming from her and felt a tear trickling down his own cheek.

"You shouldn't have done that," he whispered softly, "this is my fight."

She pulled back a bit to look him in the eyes and slapped his head softly. "It's never been your fight alone, silly. I couldn't have not done it." Before he could retort, she was kissing him passionately, and he felt more love for her than ever before.

They were interrupted by an annoyed cough from Ron.

"One of you care to explain to us what this was about?" He asked louder than necessary.

"No." Both of them answered as one, making them laugh.

"But it worked." Hermione stated, relieved, and both confirmed it.

The afternoon was filled with a lot of last-minute planning, thanks to Harry being out of the loop for two days, but after a lot of floo-talking back and forth with the twins everything and everyone appeared to be as ready as possible.

Nobody was really in the mood for dinner this evening, even Ron was content with a few Chocolate Frogs. With some trepidation the four of them flooed to the twin's shop at half past eight.

They cleared everything once more with the twins, and without them realizing it, it was almost nine.

"So you're really going to drink the Veritaserum yourself?" Hermione asked him for the umpteenth time.

"I know it's a bit of a reckless idea," Harry confirmed once more, "but I'm sure the only way he will drink something from us is if I drink it first. Just keep my back covered."

Hermione nodded, not completely satisfied, and they all sat down on one end of the table in the middle of the room, while the twins went back to the front of the store to keep their eyes open for unwanted visitors. It didn't take long and the door opened to admit a person completely clad in black, his wand out and giving the room a quick survey before striding over to the one free chair and sitting down.

Despite being unable to see the person's face, they could see his startlement as the door clicked shut and simply vanished from view, making a broad grin appear on Ron's face.

The person pulled back his hood, and the all too familiar sneer of their former Professor became visible. "So what do you want, Potter? If you're planning to try another pityful round of hexes on me, just do so and spare us the childish task."

Harry had to hold himself back. It was astounding how easily Snape could pull his strings, but he couldn't let himself be antagonized by him.

"We're here to hear some explanations from you," Harry replied in what he hoped came over as a cold voice, "and they better be good."

"I don't need to explain anything to you." Snape stated, leaning back in the chair comfortably as if nothing in the world could bother him.

"Oh, but I believe very much you do." Harry had expected him to try to play mysterious, but together with his friends they had worked out a course of action. "You see, 'Professor'," he overemphasized the title, "things will have to come to an end soon, and we can't afford any uncertainties. Either you're with us, or you are against us. It's that simple. And if you can't make us believe that you're with us, you'll go down either way. Either through Voldemort's hand, or through the Ministry's, once he's defeated."

From his narrowed eyes they could tell that the Potions Master wasn't happy with the way the discussion went. "So you're trying to bargain with protection from the Ministry, do you really think that would be worth anything?"

"Oh no," Harry declined with a satisfied smile, "you got it all wrong. We don't bargain with you. We're only sorting out where you belong."

Snape looked infuriated that his taunts didn't work as they used to. Harry could sense that he was up to something, but before he could react the former Professor had his wand above the table's edge and muttering "_Legillimens_".

Harry hadn't expected what happened now, neither had anyone else. Instead of simply not working at all, the curse rebounded onto Snape, and Harry felt himself being pulled into the wizard's mind with incredible force.

Images and sounds began rushing by, but suddenly everything halted and he could see the familiar interior of Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts. A younger Headmaster was sitting behind his desk, his eyes sad and with dark circles around them. His gaze was fixed on Harry – Snape – and for almost a minute nobody spoke.

Then a tear trickled down Dumbledore's face, something Harry had never seen before, and he spoke with a voice that sounded graver than it had ever. "Severus, you know that we cannot turn back time or unhappen things. What is done is done, and we can only try to make our best choices from now on."

"That won't be enough!" The hoarse and desperate voice of Snape protested. "How can I ever life with what I have done? How could I sink so low that I let them hurt Lilly?"

The memory Snape was shaking with sobs, while Dumbledore continued watching him with sad eyes. Finally the younger wizard pulled himself together. "How about the Vitapiacule spell?" He asked with a hopeful voice.

Dumbledore only shook his head. "I'd have considered that myself, but unfortunately it can't be applied together with a Dark Mark. Those two are similar spells, but on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Having a body bear both of them at once could lead to pain that is almost as bad as the Crutiatus curse. I'm sorry, my boy."

Dumbledore covered his face with his hands, obviously deeply shaken by the situation. It must have been the night his parents had died, or shortly after, Harry guessed.

Just then he could hear Snape mutter an unfamiliar spell. "_Vita Piaculere Harry Potter_." A burning sensation seemed to spread through Harry, and he could see Dumbledore jump up with a panicked look before he was forcefully ejected from Snapes mind.

Both of them were breathing heavily and looking sweaty, but the horrified expression on Snape's face was far more intense than Harry's own shocked look. "How did you..." the Potions master croaked, but Harry shook his head. "Never mind. Next week, same time and place?"

The wizard nodded, still visibly shaken, and stood. Turning around, he waved his wand in the direction where the door had been, murmuring "_Finite Incantatem,_" and before the other three could object he was gone.

The moment Snape had left Ron had jumped from his chair. "What was that, Harry? What's happened? One moment you're taunting each other, then suddenly you're both going all stiff and sweaty, and then he's away?"

Harry tried to blend out his friend's rant and turned towards Hermione, who was still trying to figure out on her own what had happened and biting her lip in the process.

"Do you know a spell that goes like 'Vita Piaculare'?" He asked her.

The bushy haired witch nodded. "Of course I know it. It's a spell of remorse, like a life debt combined with a wizard's oaf, but opposed to a life debt it doesn't end with a certain event. But..."

Her eyes went wide, and Harry could see all the parts of the puzzle fall into place inside her head. "He didn't -" she started, "but he has the Dark Mark - ", his nod confirmed her guess, "oh my god."

Both of them slumped back into their chairs, and he closed his eyes. So Snape indeed **was** on their side, but at what price. He sighed.


End file.
